Threads of Destiny
by BlueMoonMaples
Summary: Something shifted, and destinies were brought together. The Goddess sends Alanna to Camelot, where she poses as Alan of Trebond. Alanna must assist Merlin in protecting Arthur, while keeping her true identity and magic a secret.
1. A Change

_(Song of the Lioness) Takes place after book 2, before book 3. (Merlin) Takes place after Season 2 Episode 10 (Sweet Dreams) a little while before Episode 11 (The Witch's Quickening)._

**Hello to everybody who is reading this! This is the first story I've ever published, so please let me know what you think! Constructive criticism is welcome and greatly appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or Song of the Lioness**

Even a Goddess must bow to a higher power, and that's exactly what the Old Religion was. As the source of their power, the Old Religion commands even the gods. She felt something shifting, the threads of destiny changing, the loom of Fate creating a new colorful strand. Alanna's strand was being connected to new ones, she had a great adventure ahead of her. It was not quite clear what Alanna's role would be, but she knew that the young knight was strong, and could handle the challenges thrown at her.

"Yes, much good will come of this," The Goddess mused, "It will be very difficult, but hopefully it will work out in the end." With these thoughts, she prepared herself to visit the young knight.

* * *

Alanna was dreaming, she knew that much. It was a colorful, peaceful dream. She was sitting in a sunlit forest, with her cat, Faithful, sleeping on her lap. She watched two men preparing to go hunting. One was blond, tall, and athletic; he held himself in a way that made it very obvious he considered himself the superior. The other was also very tall, but in a lankier way, with black hair and a neckerchief.

The dream changed, the two men disappearing. She felt a familiar presence, causing her to sneeze. She looked up to see the Goddess smiling at her. She looked just as she did the last time - too beautiful to be human - with shiny black hair, emerald green eyes, and a kindly face. The ember around Alanna's neck hummed contentedly in her presence.

"My daughter," said the Goddess, "You have done much already, defeating Duke Roger of Conte, you earned your place as a knight and becoming a strong sorcerer, yet you still have much to do."

"Great Mother Goddess, what do you mean?" Alanna asked.

"Something has changed, and your destiny has shifted. You are needed elsewhere; in a distant realm, many leagues from here."

"But what would you have me do?"

"There are many prophecies concerning people of that place, but something changed, and now you are needed. The future is not completely clear, even to me, but you must assist the man they call Emrys and the Once and Future King. You will be needed to unite the land of Albion, and restore magic."

"But... I... I..." Alanna didn't know what to say.

"Weren't you longing for adventure?" The Goddess asked.

"Well yes, but a completely different land! A new destiny?" This was asking a lot, how could she possibly help in any way? It took years to ever reveal she was a girl, and she didn't think she could help that much. "Wait, what do you mean by restore magic?"

"In that land, magic is banned, any use of it is punishable by death."

Alanna gaped at her, how was she supposed to do this?

The Goddess's eyes softened with compassion. "I understand that this will be difficult, but you are among my Chosen, and it appears you have been chosen again, but this time by a greater power than I."

"Who could have more power than a Goddess?" Alanna was surprised at this.

"There are many powers in the world, higher than mine. And these powers believe you are capable to do this task, they never pick someone who cannot handle it." _What was it with deities being so vague?_ Alanna thought. She said aloud,

"I... I don't know. I mean, I wanted adventure, but this?"

"I believe you can do it Alanna. I will give you time to think it over, and I will ask you for your answer tomorrow. Sleep well." The Goddess disappeared, and sent Alanna into a deep sleep.

* * *

Alanna dreamed of knights, her friends, Jon, Raoul, Gary, but also new faces she had not seen before. The dark haired man and the blond from before, a knight with thick hair and a drunken smile, an angry king, a beautiful young woman with dark skin and curly brown hair. Her destinies were changing, her land meeting a new one. She dreamed of adventure, battles, friendship, but also fear, blood, and pain...

The next morning, she awoke to see Faithful staring at her. "Something wrong?" She asked.

_Well apparently you're going to have a great adventure and you're going need me, _said Faithful.

"How did you know about this?"

_I'm a magical cat, how do you think? Now when will we be leaving, and where are we going?_

"I'm not sure I'm going at all. I can't do something like that!"

_Your destiny has been changed, by a power higher than the Goddess. Apparently they think you can. You wanted adventure, here's one delivered to you on a silver platter, and you're going to walk away? No, you aren't afraid, so why are you so reluctant?_

"I guess I just don't want to leave this land.

_Alanna, destiny is calling, you may be able to deny it for now, but it will catch up with you, don't wait. _Faithful trotted away, probably to catch a bird or something.

Alanna sat there, thinking it over. She left the castle to go on adventures, to get away from the drama, and pressure of her being a woman who was a knight. But, she'd always planned on returning one day. How long would she be gone? This felt like it would be very hard. That she would be gone for months or years even, in a strange land with new people and different customs. Then again, would she ever get the chance for an adventure like this again? She decided to wait for Coram to wake, and ask him for his advice.

* * *

Soon, he began to stir, stretching and looking around bleary eyed. He smiled at her when she offered him food. "Breakfast in bed? Wow! Are you feeling okay?"

She grinned at him, "Just eat your food Coram."

When he was done eating, she tensed slightly, and said bluntly, "I had a dream from the Goddess last night." His eyes widened, but he waited for her to continue. "She told me my destiny has been changed, and that I am needed in a very distant land. That I can help these two men, to face their foes and bring back magic to that land. But I don't know what to do! What if something goes wrong? Will I ever come back? What about Jon, Raoul, Gary, George? Will I ever see them again?"

Coram's eyes were still rather wide, but he stopped to think about it. "Destiny... I've never been one for destiny, or all this magic stuff. And I feel like destiny is a superstition, but you say the Goddess appeared to you; asking for you specifically. Alanna, I said I would go with you wherever you decided, and you decided you wanted adventure. If the Goddess gives you a quest, I will assist you in any way I can. But you must decide, do you want to do this?"

* * *

Alanna thought for a long time, this would be a new place, a new adventure, and she would get to see the world, yes, she would miss her friends, but hopefully one day, she could come back. She decided, yes, she wanted to do this. She would explore the world and meet new people, learn new things. She would go this distant land and help however she could. She sent word to Myles, George, and Thom, saying goodbye, and telling them what she was going to do; they would spread the news. Now all she had to do was wait for the Goddess. About an hour after she had finished her last errands, the Goddess appeared.

"My daughter, what is your answer?"

"I will go, but first where am I going? What am I supposed to do? And is there anything important that I need to know?"

"You will be going to the kingdom of Camelot, it is very far, many leagues from here, so I can assist with the journey. You must keep your magic hidden from those who despise it, and I think you will need to pretend to be a man again, at least for a while. Trust the two men you saw in your dream, for they will help you as you help them. You must find and assist the Once and Future King, and Emrys, for they face many foes, but don't go too far, for they reside in Camelot. I suggest again training to be a knight, it will not be long before you are a knight of Camelot."

"That's an awful lot to do, but I will do my best. When are we going?"

"Right now if you like. If all of you are going, come stand here." The Goddess muttered a few quick words, and in a flash of purple light, Alanna, Coram, the horses and Faithful were gone.

**Please review! I want to make this story as good as I can.**


	2. Camelot

**I hope you like it!**

The world was spinning. Alanna lying on the ground waiting for her head to clear. "Definitely not my favorite method of travel," she groaned.

"Tell me about it."

Alanna looked over to see Coram looking green around the gills. _I don't know what you two are complaining about, _Faithful licked a paw and drew it over his ear, looking quite at ease.

"Yeah, well not all of us are as lucky as you..." Alanna stuck out her tongue immaturely and looked over at the horses. It was almost comical to watch, the horses were staggering around as if they were drunk. Finally Moonlight, (Alanna's gold and white mare) sat down looking very uncomfortable, Anvil*** **followed suit.

Eventually the world stopped spinning, and Alanna slowly sat up and looked at her surroundings. They were sitting in a forest, with sunlight shining through the trees and dappling in patterns on the ground. Birdsong filled the air, and it seemed very peaceful. There were some gentle slopes and small hills around, so she couldn't see any landmarks, but there was a small stream.

Slowly she stood up, and climbed to the top of one of the hills. There! In the distance, maybe about a mile away was a very big castle, flags blowing in the breeze. She picked her way back down to Coram, was now sitting up, leaning against one of the trees. "There's a castle in that direction." Alanna pointed. "I think it might be Camelot, the place the Goddess said we should go to."

"Okay, just give me a few minutes to recover."

After a while, the horses stood straight, not dizzy anymore, and Coram looked like his normal self again. They both took a swig of water, allowed the horses to drink from the stream, then climbed up the hill. Alanna pulled her riding cloak more tightly around herself.

Wanting to give the horses a break - just in case they weren't fully recovered from the strange transportation they received from the Goddess - they continued on foot, leading Moonlight and Anvil. Eventually they came to another slope, this one with more undergrowth and rocks scattered about. Faithful nimbly bounded up the hill, flicking his tail. Coram and Alanna followed more slowly.

When they reached the top of the hill, the castle was again visible in the distance. She pointed it out to Coram, who merely nodded. She started down the slope but stopped when she saw movement. Two men creeped out from behind the trees, stalking a deer that was grazing a little farther off. One was blond, and he carried a crossbow. The other had dark hair, and wasn't nearly as stealthy in his movements. She watched in amusement as the dark-haired man looked around the forest floor, and quite deliberately stomped on a small branch by his feet. The branch snapped in two with a loud _crick! _The crossbow fired tight as the deer bolted for cover. He missed, and the deer got away safely.

"MERLIN!" The blond yelled.

"You know, you're never going to catch anything if you move around like that." Alanna called out, her voice carrying down the slope. The men whirled around in surprise, the crossbow aimed in her general direction.

"Who are you?"

Alanna moved down the hill with Coram following. She stopped a few feet from the men; not worried in the slightest about the crossbow now pointed in her face. Really, it was a little sad that she was that short, the crossbow was held just below her eye level.

"I am Alan of Trebond, and this is Coram, we are on our way to Camelot. Would Camelot happen to be the city yonder?" She peered up at them, and stopped dead, her eyes flying wide in shock. Her mouth dropped open for a split second before she clamped it shut. These were the 2 men she had seen in her dream! She tried to compose her features, the blond didn't seem to notice anything, and he lowered the crossbow. But the dark-haired man - was his name Merlin? - He narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion.

The blond stepped forward, "Yes, that is Camelot, apparently you aren't from around here. If I may, what is your business there?"  
"I wanted to finish my training, and become a Knight of Camelot." She tried to keep her voice even. She didn't expect to meet these men so soon! Would she meet the other people she saw in her dream too?

The blond tried to disguise an un-elegant snort of laughter. "You want to become a Knight? How old are you? 13?"

Alanna's shock had worn off slightly, and she was tired of everyone underestimating her because of her size. She didn't know these people, yet they were already judging her. "I'm 18 thank you very much," She snapped, "And I can take care of myself, despite my size. I'll have you know I was one of the best swordsman back home. Who are you anyway?"

Coram put his hand on her shoulder, "Alan, don't go picking fights before we even reach the city."

"Don't worry about it. I am Prince Arthur of Camelot, and this is my manservant Merlin. We just finished hunting anyway, I don't think we'll catch anything else today." He shot a hard look at Merlin before continuing, "We can escort you back to the city, and if you're serious about the knight training, I'll help you get settled in. You look like a noble, judging from your clothes. When we get to Camelot, I'll need to see a seal of nobility."

"That won't be a problem, but why do you need it?"  
"The King won't knight anyone who isn't a noble," Merlin explained. Alanna sneezed as she glanced up at him, and was surprised as the strangest feeling of recognition rose up in her. It wasn't because of the dream she had, no, it was something else. There is more to this man than meets the eye. He had a slight feel about him. Not really an aura, but she felt... Power? She wasn't sure what it was...

Coram seemed uncomfortable, "Well, let's be on our way then."

* * *

As they walked through the woods, Alanna gave a brief explanation of their story.  
"I grew up in Trebond, which is very far from here, and rather small. Coram lived there with us, and taught me and my brother what it means to be a knight and also how to fight. I learned almost everything a knight needs to know, and I also received a very good education. All that's left for me is to become a knight. So I came to Camelot to finish my training."

"Are you a knight?" Arthur asked Coram.

"Yes, I am a knight when I am needed. But I retired a while ago, I'm not as young as I used to be." He replied.

"What kingdom did you serve under?" Asked Prince Arthur.

"Tortall, have you ever heard of it?"

"Yes... Of course... It's a great kingdom, I've heard it mentioned a few times..." Alanna rolled her eyes, Arthur had never heard of Tortall, she was sure of that.

"That's a nice cat you've got there." Said Merlin. Faithful was curled up on Moonlight's back, sleeping. "Thank you, this is Faithful, he follows me practically everywhere."

"May I pet him?"

"Sure." Merlin reached out and stroked him, Faithful purred lazily but kept his eyes closed.

"You're such a girl Merlin!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Alanna's voice came out a little bit colder than it ought to.

Arthur looked at her, surprised at her reaction, "Nothing."  
Merlin just smiled and kept stroking the cat.

Soon they approached the city walls. Wow, Camelot was massive, it rivaled even Tortall in size. They passed through the gate, the guards nodding to Arthur in greeting. Alanna looked around in interest, at all the bright colors and the people moving around. They followed Arthur up to the castle. It was huge, and the courtyard was well paved, with a statue in the middle.

Arthur turned to her and Coram, "First I will need to see your seals of nobility." Alanna pulled out her shield which had the Tortall crest on it, but she knew that wouldn't do. She dug around her saddle bag until she found it eventually. "Here," she handed both Coram's and her seals to Arthur. He glanced at them briefly and handed them back.

"Merlin, show them the training grounds and give them a room in the Knight's Wing, Alan, I expect to see you at training tomorrow, bright and early."  
Merlin gave Arthur a very fake-looking bow,"Yes _Sire._" He turned to them and grinned, "Hello travelers, my name is Merlin and I'll be your tour guide for today. Observe, one of the rare species found only in Camelot. It's called an Arthur, they tend to be quite cranky and -"

"Get on with it _Mer_lin!" Arthur marched up the stairs in Camelot without a backward glance.

* * *

Merlin, true to his word, gave them a very informative tour. He pointed out everything from the bakery, to the well, to some annoying pigeons that had been bothering him lately . Alanna rather liked him, he was so cheerful about everything, and even Coram - man of few words - was asking him questions.

Eventually they passed the training grounds, but since the sun was setting, not many people were out. Merlin took them to the stables, a somewhat chubby, short man - he was only a little taller than her - was brushing down one of the horses. "Hello Tyr, this is Alan and Coram, would you mind brushing down the horses and feeding them?"

"Oh, that won't be necessary, I always take care of my own horse." Alanna said.

"Don't worry Alan, Tyr is very good with the horses, if you leave them here, I can show you your rooms and help you get settled in. If you really want to, you can come back after I show you your room." Merlin said.

"Alan, let's go to our room so Merlin doesn't have to wait for us." Said Coram.

"Oh, no, that's not what I was -" Coram held up a hand, Merlin fell silent.

"It's only polite Alan, don't make Merlin wait."

"Alright," She sighed, "I'll be back later Moonlight. Come on Faithful." Faithful opened his eyes, and Merlin started in surprise,

"He has purple eyes! Just like you!"

"Yeah, interesting coincidence isn't it?" Alanna smiled.

Merlin looked at her, trying to read her face, which she carefully kept as normal as she could, making eye contact with him. She rubbed Faithful's ears, "Let's go." Thankfully Merlin let it drop, but not without giving her a suspicious look, that had the slightest bit of hope in it.

After about a minute, he remarked, "You know, I'm surprised Arthur's making you start training right away. You'd think he would let you rest after your journey."

"We went easy on the journey, I look forward to training tomorrow," Alanna replied. "He just wants me to show how hard I'll work for this. And I think he'll be in for a surprise at what I can do." Alanna smiled, this was going to be fun.

"Well, Arthur is the best swordsman in Camelot, he's trained since he was a boy, and, well, you are quite small, no offense."

Alanna rolled her eyes, "I'm used to being small, and I've fought people who were much bigger than me."

Merlin still seemed disbelieving, "Well, tomorrow will be interesting indeed. Coram, will you be coming to training?"

"I'll come to watch Alan get settled in, but I don't think I can keep up with all the youngsters."

"It's always good to keep your skills sharp." Merlin replied.

"Eh, I'll decide tomorrow."

Finally, they arrived at the Knight's Wing. The trainees were separate from the actual knights, but in the same wing. Merlin brought them to a trainee room. Their room was simple, but nice. Alanna missed home, but at least she had Coram and Faithful with her. She unpacked her stuff, and laid out some of her things. She would go check on Moonlight and Anvil, and then go to bed. She was looking forward to tomorrow.

***Anvil is Coram's horse, he is mentioned very briefly in Alanna: The First Adventure, and in Lioness Rampant**

**AN: I apologize if the characters are a little OOC right now, I'm still trying to get the hang of this. Please review! How can I improve it? Chapter three will be posted in a few days, but I will be busy this weekend. I'll post as soon as I can.**


	3. Duels and Books

**Hello! Here's the third chapter. Merlin is paranoid, as usual, but I apologize if any of the characters are OOC. Enjoy!**

Merlin showed Alan and Coram to their room before heading back home. As he walked, he pondered, _What is it about these strangers?_ Alan and Coram seemed pretty nice, but they were slightly suspicious. He admired Alan, for such a small man, and with such effeminate features, he had a lot of spirit. He had a strong will and his personality was as fiery as his hair. Also, Merlin had to admit, it was rather amusing to watch how he interacted with Arthur. Yes, Merlin liked the newcomers, so why was he suspicious?

When Alan had first introduced himself, he had a strange reaction to them, almost as if he'd recognized them. Merlin had also received an odd feeling during that encounter. He knew he had never seen Alan before in his life. With his red hair and bright purple eyes, he wasn't someone you were likely to forget. So it couldn't be that he had met Alan before, but Alan had a sort of... Not really an aura, but Merlin could tell there was more to Alan than meets the eye. The reason Merlin was most suspicious though, was because there was an almost... Magical feeling around the lad. It was confusing though, because, it felt like magic, but it also felt so... different... It felt foreign. Exotic. Were there different types of magic out there? And most importantly - did Alan have magic? If he did, why was he here?

He of all people should not be suspicious of someone because they have magic, but thinking of the past, almost all the sorcerers that came to Camelot had a bad sorcerers out there that used magic for good generally stayed far, far away from Camelot, and for good reason.

Yes, as much as Merlin liked the newcomers, he would keep a close eye on them until he was sure what their intentions were. Just in case...

Merlin woke up the next morning, late as usual. He groaned and dragged himself out of bed, dressing quickly and grabbing an apple that was sitting on the table. He muttered a quick 'good morning' to Gaius and hurried out the door.

Not surprisingly, Arthur was still asleep when Merlin brought the prat's food up. He honestly couldn't see why Arthur was so annoyed when Merlin was late, Arthur loved to sleep in anyway. Ha, the prat just yelled at him for fun. It was just another way Merlin was able to brighten up someone else's day.

He set Arthur's breakfast on the table before yanking open the curtains, allowing the sun to shine directly on Arthur's face. "Rise and shine! The world is missing it's daily serving of clotpole!" Merlin said with a huge grin. "You know that's unhealthy Arthur, the world needs 1 serving of clotpole, 2 servings of wonderful-ness, and 3 servings of humor everyday! We all have to do our share!"

"Who brings the other 5 servings?" Arthur grumbled.

"Oh, that would be me of course!" Merlin grinned and yanked the blankets off of Arthur, 'accidentally' knocking him on the floor.

"MERLIN!" He narrowly dodged a goblet thrown at his head. "WHY DO I PUT UP WITH YOU?!"

"Because I brighten up your day!" Merlin skipped out of the room before Arthur could find something else to throw at him.

After a few minutes Merlin went back to Arthur's room, helped him dress and put on his armor, before following him down to the training grounds.

"Okay, Merlin, grab a shield, a sword, and put on a helmet."

Merlin groaned, his good mood starting to dissipate. He hated doing this, but he did as he was told. He went up to face his first opponent, this one wasn't so bad, this person was a relatively new fighter, so Merlin was able to feebly fight back. Once that was done, he trained with different knights for the next few minutes. When he was fighting against one particular man who really battered him down. Then he heard someone shouting, "HEY! Why would you make your servant do that?!" He turned to see Alan, who had Faithful on his shoulder, yelling at Arthur, he assumed he looked pretty pitiful, not many others had ever spoken up on his behalf in training.

"Merlin can handle it. He's done this before."

"Did you see him?! He isn't a knight, he was barely holding on to the shield, he's a servant, and he has no training in how to defend himself."

"Well thats why we're here isn't it?" Arthur said.

"If he's going to fight, train him. Don't just pitch him against everyone without knowing what to do."

"Alan, don't worry, Merlin can take care of himself," For a split second, Arthur's voice got gentle, before resuming his arrogant tone. "If you want to see for yourself, you can train against him. I bet he's a great match for your skills."

"Do you always behave like a prat?" Alan demanded. Merlin looked up at this before laughing loudly. That was his line! And it was being delivered by a man who's head barely reached Arthur's shoulder. The others joined in, they had all heard Arthur and Merlin's banter before.

Alan continued speaking "No I'm not going to fight Merlin, I think I'll fight you instead, you aren't as great as you think you are!" Wow, Alan seemed mad, Merlin blushed slightly, Alan was angry on his behalf.

Arthur seemed very taken aback, before letting out a laugh of his own. "Are you sure you want to fight me? I won't be responsible if you get hurt."

Alan drew her sword, "I'm sure."

A large circle formed around the two, nobody would miss this for the world. Arthur getting told off by a red-haired pipsqueak who then challenged him to a duel? Everyone assumed that this fight would be over very quickly, the redhead would get flattened! Merlin wasn't so sure, the grace which Alan held himself spoke of his experience and competence. Merlin used his gangly height to his advantage, peering over the shorter knight's heads. He heard murmured bets taking place. So far the odds were 20:1 Arthur to Alan.

He could tell by looking at Arthur's face that Arthur didn't want to fight the youth. He was afraid of hurting him, but his pride wouldn't let him withdraw. Both took a defensive stance holding their shields and swords, but Alan didn't strike. Alan was waiting for Arthur to make the first move, Arthur lunged forward, but his heart wasn't in it. Alan easily parried the blow, knocking Arthur's sword out of his hand.

"Come on Arthur!" Merlin called, "That wouldn't have scared a rabbit!" Merlin noticed Faithful pacing back and forth, tail twitching. The cat was watching Alan and Arthur with an intensity far more intelligent than any animal had a right to possess. Again, he felt a slight magic hanging around the cat, and nervously turned his attention to the fight.

**Alanna's POV**

When she had seen Merlin cowering from the blows of his opponent, her blood boiled. What was he doing here? He had no experience fighting, and was barely hanging on to his shield! The perpetually happy servant was being used as a punching bag! This wasn't how noble knights were supposed to behave! She was very angry, and started shouting at Arthur. As she shouted, he looked the slightest bit remorseful, but she was still angry, and challenged him to a duel.

She could tell that Arthur was very reluctant to fight her. But he was too proud to back down. She drew her sword, Lightning, assuming a defensive position. Arthur did the same. She stared into his eyes, not moving, hoping to unnerve him. He was too experienced for that, but she could tell that he was uncomfortable. He lunged forward with a pathetic blow, which she parried easily before rapping the back of his hand with the flat of her blade, knocking his sword to the ground. She barely noticed the knights murmuring around her.

"Come on Arthur! That wouldn't have scared a rabbit!" She heard Merlin yell.

She hissed up at Arthur, "You're still underestimating me," before drawing back and allowing him to pick up his sword.

This time she struck first, he wasn't ready for her speed, and clumsily blocked it before moving out of her range. They circled around each other, Alanna slashed out at him in a series of quick strokes. She remembered using this same move on Jonathan, her speed overwhelmed even the largest of men and she was rewarded by her efforts. She got close enough to him to punch him in the gut before he jumped away. Merlin hadn't been kidding when he said Arthur was one of the best, Alanna couldn't tell where he would move, his torso gave away no hints, no direction, unlike less experienced fighters. Arthur was fast, strong, and unpredictable. Well, not totally unpredictable...

By this time, Arthur had adapted his style well enough to accommodate for her height, his blows came quicker, aiming downward, but still she danced out of the way. He moved closer and this time they exchanged quick parries in an exhilarating dance. She felt adrenaline rushing through her veins, they were very equal. Alanna wouldn't be able to best him in strength, but she had speed and trickery. They continued parrying until their sword hilts locked, bringing them body to body. _Oh no,_ she thought, _I need to get out of this quick._ She was much stronger than she looked, but she still wouldn't be able to hold Arthur off for long in this position. She summoned her strength, and gave a massive push before removing herself from the body to body position. She heard mild gasps around her, and even Arthur looked stunned. She understood why, for someone her size it was normally extremely difficult to get out of that position. She was sweating and breathing heavily, so she knew she had to end this soon. She panted even harder, making herself look even more tired than she already was.

She moved forward slowly, pretending to be exhausted, and held Lightning in a position that would be easily knocked out of her hand. She knew no swordsman would be able to resist trying. He warily moved forward, coming to meet her before doing exactly what she had predicted. He slashed towards her sword hand but she immediately leaped out of the way, spinning as she moved to his side. His lunge had carried him off-balance, and she slashed at his hand, twisting Lightning as she did so and knocking his sword to the ground. But she wasn't done yet. She had moved so quickly that he was still off balance from his lunge, and as he tried to right himself, she tripped him, knocking him backwards. He lay flat on the ground, staring up at her in shock as she pointed Lightning at his throat.

Her anger was completely gone by now, and she smiled, lowering her sword. She reached out her hand, which he took, and she pulled him to his feet. He was still shocked, but he looked at her with a newfound respect. "I'm never underestimating you again." He flashed a brief smile at her. Perhaps he wasn't so bad after all.

**Merlin's POV**

Everyone stared in shock as Alan levelled his sword at Arthur's throat. The best swordsman in Camelot beaten by someone half his size. Merlin tensed, he would intervene if he had to, but relaxed as Alan smiled, and offered his arm, pulling Arthur to his feet. The knights who had switched their bets to Alan started cheering, as the others gaped at Alan and Arthur.

Alan moved with lightning speed when he fought. It was amazing, he had thought Arthur was fast, but Alan was far more nimble. But then again, Alan didn't have as much weight to carry around as Arthur did, Merlin permitted himself a tiny grin.

The morning was a long one, and everyone looked at Alan with newfound respect, and Merlin was happy that he didn't have to train with the knights anymore today, but he was still wondering about Alan's strange cat. He finished up his chores, but instead of going to take a quick lunch break, he headed to the library. Geoffrey wasn't there, which would make this easier for him to research. He started looking at books about enchanted animals. Most of the entries didn't help at all. He found pages on unicorns, griffins, dragons, acromantulas, phoenixes, sidhe, mermaids, bastets - he choked back sorrow at that entry, and finally he found a page on familiars. The name rung in his head, and he was sure he had heard it before. He read the entry.

_Familiars are classified as supernatural spirits in the form of an animal. Occasionally they can take a different form, but are almost always a human/animal combination. They are created to protect or assist a person. While the general belief is that familiars are used for evil, believed to be a demon assisting a witch in her dark magic, this is often not the case. As only very powerful sorcerers can summon a demon, most familiars are not around for evil purposes._

Merlin felt better at reading this, Faithful's presence might not necessarily be a bad thing, but he still needed to find out why Alan and Coram were here. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice Alan come in behind him.

**Alanna's POV**

After her duel was over, she continued training with the knights. She was happy that Merlin didn't have to train with them anymore today, but she knew it wouldn't be long before Arthur made Merlin train with them again. Eventually it was lunchtime, and Alanna decided it would be a good time to research a little more about Emrys and the Once and Future King. Faithful agreed with her, and hopped onto his favorite perch on her left shoulder. She munched on a piece of bread while wandering the castle halls. She had to ask for directions to the library more than once, the castle was so large! Eventually she found it, it was such a big library, Myles would have felt right at home here. It was full of towering bookcases and dust, lots of dust. She looked around, it was empty, except for one person. Merlin. She wondered what he was doing. "Fancy meeting you here." She suppressed a smile as he jumped and spun around, quickly shutting his book as he did so.

"Alan! You startled me!" He looked mildly nervous about something, she couldn't think what. "What were you reading?" She asked.

"Oh... umm...Just a book...About animals and mythical creatures."

Why did he look so agitated? "Sounds interesting," she said mildly. Where would she find a book on Emrys or on the Once and Future King? She turned and perused the shelves, not noticing Merlin take a breath to calm himself. She remembered the Goddess saying, _"There are many prophecies concerning people of that place, but something changed, and now you are needed. The future is not completely clear, even to me, but you must assist the man they call Emrys and the Once and Future King. You will be needed to unite the land of Albion, and restore magic."_ Prophecies she had said. Alanna decided to start there.

"I'm trying to find a book," she turned back to Merlin, who seemed much more calm now. She must have really startled him. "But I'm not sure where to start looking."

"What book?"

"Ummm, do you know where books about old legends or maybe prophecies would be?"

A muscle in Merlin's face twitched at this, "Why are you looking up stuff like that?"

Should Alanna tell him? She could tell him that she was looking for Emrys, but she felt this was something she should keep to herself. Besides, Merlin probably wouldn't know anything about Emrys anyway. She made up a story on the spot, "When I was little, my mother used to read me stories of the great kings of old, and I just wanted to find a book on them. I'd rather you didn't tell anyone this, but I'm slightly homesick." She averted her eyes. Well it wasn't a total lie, she _was _homesick. Merlin nodded in understanding and directed her to the right bookshelf. She picked up a few books and skimmed through them, apparently nobody had decided an index would be a good idea.

She realized Merlin was still standing awkwardly behind her, she looked at him. He cleared his throat awkwardly, "Thank you, for earlier today."  
She smiled at him, "No problem."

As he turned to go, she remembered something, "Oh Merlin! How would you feel about me giving you proper lessons on how to sword fight?"

He glanced at her and smiled ruefully, "I don't think that would be the best idea, I'm terrible with a sword."

"A little bit of proper training could fix that. When I started, it was downright embarrassing how bad I was."

He shook his head, his smile widening, "Oh no, you haven't seen me with a sword. I must have been born clumsy."

She looked right into his eyes as he said this. From what she had seen, he was far more intelligent than he let on, but he kept it hidden. Why? She assumed he was doing the same with his coordination skills. "No, I don't think you're as clumsy as you pretend to be." His eyes widened but he kept a smile on his face.

"No, I'm terrible at this sort of thing. I am coordination impaired. But if you really want to teach me, I will let you try. I'm warning you now though, you'll give up on me eventually." He grinned at this."When would you want to start the lessons?"

"Hmmm, well I have nothing to do for the rest of today, and if you have time to come to the library you must be done with your chores. So how about on the training grounds before dinner?"

"Okay. I'll see you then." He left.

She continued looking through the books, and finally she found a few mentions of Emrys. _Emrys is the one born of magic. He will protect the Once and Future King, and help him to claim his throne. _How could anyone be born of magic? She continued her search, but didn't find much else. She wondered again, who is Emrys, and how am I supposed to find him. The Goddess said both he and the Once and Future King were in Camelot. She probably could safely guess Arthur was the Once and Future King, but then again, he might not be. But Emrys, he could be anyone. How was she supposed to find him?

She decided to put these thoughts away for now. Soon she would go to the training grounds, and give Merlin his first proper lesson in sword fighting.

**Did you like it? I hope you did! Please review!**

***Next chapter will take longer to update, softball started and the homework is being piled on. I don't have quite as much time, sorry about that. But I will try to post by next week. (I'll write over the weekend)**

**Next chapter I will be incorporating the tv series. Starting with The Crystal of Neahtid. :)**

**Question - what did you guys think of the duel?**


	4. The Witch's Quickening

**Hello my readers! I am so sorry this took so long, I was really busy all week, but I hope you like this chapter, it's a long one. :) In Google Docs, it is a fraction over 7 pages! I've never done this before (this is my first fanfic) so any constructive criticism is welcome. Is there too much detail? Too little detail? Do you want more or less dialogue/description/action/humor?**

**Some of the dialogue in here is directly quoted from the Merlin episode, The Witch's Quickening (Season 2 Episode 11)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or Song of the Lioness.**

The last few days had been simple and quiet, the routine reminded her of when she was a squire in Tortall. For the past week, every day she got up and trained with the knights. She was still horrible with a mace, but she was skilled with the crossbows, spears, and throwing knives, as well as her sword. After lunch, she would go to the library, hoping to find out more about Emrys and the Once and Future King. Gregory of Monmouth had been rather distant at first, but soon he began to warm to her. He told her many fascinating stories of the neighboring kingdoms, of old battles, and the history of Camelot as well as legends as to how it was founded. Soon, having searched most of the books in the library for information on Emrys, she gave up, but continued returning to the library for fun. It really was quite like Tortall, but instead of having classes, she could learn at her desire, with no homework or studying to do.

Almost every evening before dinner, she worked with Merlin, training him in the ways of the sword. At first, he was absolutely horrible at it, tripping over his feet, falling, and managing to get his sword stuck in a nearby tree. It had taken at least five minutes to get it out. But Alanna was patient, teaching him the basics and correcting his stance. He knew as much as any beginner, but having never truly been taught, he lacked coordination.

Soon he improved, it had only been a week, but his movements were more graceful, more sure. While he was still far from the skill level of a good swordsman, he was a very quick learner, and she believed he had potential.

They became friends, or at least, Alanna considered him a friend. He introduced her to a lot of people. Some knights, some servants, and he also pointed out the nobles. She really liked Gwen and Gaius. Gaius reminded her of Myles, with his fascination of science and seemingly endless wisdom. And Gwen was a very sweet girl, one of the kindest people she had ever met. The woman Gwen served however, Alanna was wary of. While the Lady Morgana seemed like a very kind woman, there were times that she reminded Alanna of Delia, who had plotted with Roger to kill the royal family. Delia had been conniving, and intelligent, but also very vain and easily corrupted by Roger. Morgana seemed like a nice woman, but Alanna - not completely sure why - felt a seed of darkness in her.

She missed Tortall, but was already beginning to adjust to life in Camelot, making new friends and settling into the routines. One night, after a rather tiring training session with Merlin, she settled into bed, falling asleep instantly once her head hit the pillow. All too soon, she was awakened by Faithful batting at her head with barely sheathed claws.

"Mmmph, go away Faithful. I'm tired."

_Wake up Alanna!_

"What is it?" She mumbled sleepily.

_Intruders, I can hear their voices in my head. _He told her. _They have magic,but I don't think they have good intentions._

Her sleepiness faded, and she reached out with her mind, searching for the intruder's presence. While she could not hear anything, she felt magic being used somewhere in the castle.

Grabbing her sword, she jumped out of bed, hurriedly grabbing her boots and a short robe. Faithful bounded down the hall, _Follow me! They're heading to Morgana's chambers! _She hurried after him, following him up stairs and down a long corridor. Hearing footsteps running towards her, she drew Lightning, and jumped out around the corner, preparing to strike.

She pulled back just in time, as Merlin threw himself against the wall to avoid her.

"Merlin!" He was still wearing his bed clothes, his hair disheveled. "What's going on?"

"Intruders," he panted, "They're in the castle! They're heading to Morgana's chambers!" Right after he said this the warning bell went off. Merlin sprinted down the hall. As fit as she was, she had trouble keeping up with his long strides.

Just as they turned another corner, a hand shot out, grabbing Merlin's throat and pinning him to the wall.

"Merlin!" Arthur exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" Merlin wheezed out an incoherent answer, gasping for breath as Arthur crushed his windpipe. She stepped forward to speak instead. "There are intruders in the castle. Merlin says they're heading to Morgana's chambers." Arthur let go of Merlin's throat, "I saw them." Merlin wheezed.

Arthur spun around on his heel, Alanna, Merlin, and the group of guards following him. Faithful trotted after them.

"Frankly Merlin, its hard to believe. For once you've shown some real initiative." He said.

They reached Morgana's room within a minute. Arthur put his ear to the door, before stepping back and kicking it open, barging into her chambers. Morgana, apparently having been asleep before, jolted up in her bed.

"What on earth do you think you're doing?!" She yelled. The room was seemingly empty.

"I'd reason to believe there was an intruder in here." Arthur said, peering around. The other knights, Merlin, and Alanna stood in the doorway behind him. Faithful crept into the room, sniffing around.

"Right now, Arthur, the only intruder is you." Morgana snapped.

"Camelot has been infiltrated, did you not hear the warning bell?" It would have been pretty hard to not hear the bell, it was clanging loud enough to be heard a half mile away.

"Of course I did, I was hoping I would be safe in my chambers!"

"Well... If you'll just permit me to search your chambers?" By his tone of voice, Arthur seemed very embarrassed.

"You'll do no such thing! Do you really think that if there was someone in my chamber, I wouldn't know?" Morgana asked condescendingly.

"Please accept my apologies." Arthur closed the door as he left, glaring daggers at Merlin and Alanna.

"Keep searching," he told the guards. Alanna hesitatingly followed the guards as they walked away, but stopped once she was out of sight of Arthur and Merlin. She heard Merlin babbling, "I don't understand."

"Oh! I'm sorry Merlin, which bit didn't you understand? The making a fool out of me or making a fool out of yourself?" Arthur was definitely angry.

"There was someone in there, I know there was." Alanna felt bad for him.

"Word of advice Merlin, in the future, stick to what you do best... NOTHING!" Arthur's footsteps receded as he walked away.

Alanna returned to where Merlin was standing, staring after Arthur looking very hurt. Merlin pressed his ear against the door, but hearing nothing, he turned, facing her.

"There was someone in there," He whispered, "I know there was."

"I believe you," She said, "But how did you know there were intruders? Why were you out of bed in the first place?"

"I heard voices in my-" He stopped abruptly.

"In your?" She questioned.

"In my chambers." He finished lamely.

She decided not to press it. "Hopefully they will be found soon. Do you want me to escort you back to home?" She asked.

"Umm, no thank you, I think I can manage."

She nodded and headed back to her room, Coram was waiting for her.

"What's happening?" He demanded. "Where were you?"

"Faithful woke me up, there were intruders in the castle."

"So you decided to go out there by yourself, not knowing who you were up against? You could have gotten hurt!" Coram scolded.

"Well someone had to be alerted, whoever's sneaking around in the dead of night isn't up for good reason."

"As long as you're alright, but don't be so thoughtless in the future. Wake me up next time." Coram went back to his room, muttering under his breath as he did so

As Alanna slid into bed, Faithful said, _Someone had been in Morgana's chambers. I picked up their scent. _

"Why would Morgana lie about it? What do you think they were doing?"

_Who knows, but whatever it was, it isn't good. These people had magic, and weren't afraid to use it to break in. We'll have to keep a close eye on the Lady Morgana._

* * *

Merlin returned to his chambers where Gaius was awake, mixing potions. "What happened? I hear there was a disturbance, an intruder in the city."

"Yeah, I heard talking... In my head." Merlin admitted. Gaius stopped mixing his potion, looking at him in surprise. "They had magic?"

Merlin nodded, "I recognized the voice. It was Mordred."

"The druid boy? What's he doing here?" Both of them knew the prophecies, that Mordred was destined to kill Arthur one day. The boy's presence couldn't mean anything good.

"He was guiding someone to Morgana's chambers." Merlin said.

"Are you sure? Well she and the boy did have a kind of bond," Gaius mused.

"Yeah, but this is about more than that!" Merlin exclaimed. "What if they'd been caught? Whatever they were doing, they were prepared to die for it." He was worried, not only did he have to keep an eye on Alan and Coram, but he also had to watch Morgana very carefully. Morgana hated Uther, but how far was she willing to go?

The next day, Merlin walked into Arthur's chamber only to see Morgana. Hearing his footsteps, she spun around quickly, putting one of her hands behind her back. "Merlin! I was just looking for Arthur!"

Merlin looked at her suspiciously, "He's out training."

"Oh of course," Morgana started to move towards the door.

"Yeah, he trains every day, same time, same place." She knew this, so what was she doing in here?

"Oh... I just wanted to apologize for last night. Another time perhaps." She left the room quickly.

What had she been doing in here? Had she taken something? Yes, he would have to keep a very close eye on her.

Alarm was spreading throughout the castle. Late during the night, the castle vaults had been broken into. The Crystal of Neahtid was missing and the locks hadn't been broken, meaning that someone had stolen Arthur's keys. Merlin suspected only one person. Morgana. According to Gaius, the sorcerers of the past believed the crystal held the secrets to time itself.

Very early the next morning, long before dawn, he saw Morgana leaving the city on a horse, and he decided to follow her. He took a horse from the stables, and tracked her all the way to the Forest of Chemary. Little did he know, he was being followed as well.

* * *

Alanna saw Morgana leave the city, with Merlin following a few minutes later. Her suspicions raised, she put a saddle on Moonlight and followed Merlin. It was dark out, but with Faithful's help, she managed to stay on the trail. Soon, she was barely able to make out his form in the distance as light peeked over the horizon. Suddenly, she lost sight of him, she dismounted, trying to make out his trail.

"What are you doing here?" A voice sounded from the shadows.

She spun around, drawing Lightning; it was Merlin. "I could ask you the same thing," she replied.

"Why are you following me?" He asked.

"Sneaking out of Camelot, following the Lady Morgana no less, its a bit suspicious don't you think?"

He stared at her in surprise, "What do you know?"

Alanna bit her lip, before saying, "Well, I know that the intruders went to Morgana's chambers, and the next night, the Crystal of Neahtid went missing. Coincidence? I think not. Also, the fact that she sneaks out of Camelot as soon as the crystal goes missing suggests that she's delivering it to someone, and the fact that you're following her means you suspect her as well."

He still looked surprised at her deductions, apparently he hadn't met that many intelligent people in Camelot.

"You're very observant." He remarked.

"Thank you, now we should probably go after her before we lose her trail."

They both mounted their horses and set off after Morgana, who was far in the distance.

They crouched in the bushes, observing as Morgana handed the crystal to a tall, blond man. She was barely able to hear what they said, but she caught his name. The blond was called Alvarr, and clearly Morgana had turned against Camelot. She seemed troubled, like she wasn't happy about what was going on, but still she gave them the crystal; giving them the chance to bring down Camelot.

Soon they had heard all they needed to hear, and galloped back to Camelot.

Merlin rushed into Gaius's chambers, telling him everything that they'd found out. Alanna followed hesitantly, she felt out of place here in the physician's chambers. He seemed surprised to see her following Merlin, but accepted her presence when they told him she had followed Merlin and Morgana, and knew everything going on.

Wasting no time, Gaius requested an audience with the king, which was to be held that afternoon. When the council had been called, they stood in the hall, as Gaius began speaking.

"Sire, I have some information that can help you find the Crystal."

"You know the whereabouts of the Crystal?" Uther stood up, ignoring the chair behind him.

"I believe so, Sire."

"I see, and how did you come by this information?"

"In my capacity as physician, I have dealings with many people. They hear things. And they see things."

Well Merlin certainly heard things all right, she thought. He seems to know everything that's going on.

Gaius was still speaking, " Last night I was confronted by one such man who told me the crystal had been stolen by a band of renegades, led by a man called Alvarr."

Alanna looked at Morgana, she was looking slightly panicked.

"Who was this informant?" Uther asked.

"I think it would only be fair to protect their identity sire, if the news of their betrayal were to reach the renegades, it could endanger their life." Alanna doubted Uther would have listened if they told him Merlin had been the informant, she supposed it could have put him under suspicion for who he associated himself with.

"Very well." Thankfully Uther didn't force Gaius to tell him.

"Where is this Alvarr hiding?" Arthur asked.

"He was last seen in the Valley of Chemary sire."

"Summon the guards Arthur, I want this matter investigated without delay."

"Thank you Gaius, once again I am in your debt." Uther thanked someone?! Wow, Alanna wryly wondered if he was feeling okay.

Gaius bowed and left, and Uther dismissed the court. Alanna ran off in the direction Arthur had gone.

"Prince Arthur!" She called as she caught sight of him. He had talking to Morgana, who hurriedly walked away as Alanna strode up.

"Sire, please allow me to come along on this mission."

"Why do you want to come?"

"It will be experience for when I become a knight, it will be a learning experience, and I am a good fighter. I could be helpful, because the renegades aren't merely going to give us the crystal."

She watched him as he thought, she really wanted to go with them. She wanted to be of some use, she hadn't been doing much, and following Morgana had made her yearn to do something useful.

"Very well." He said, get a horse and your armor, we leave in an hour.

An hour later, the whole group was assembled, there was Arthur and Merlin, why a manservant was coming along, she didn't know. Also there were a few knights, and a group of guards. All of them were armed, and Alanna was thankful for the gifts her friends had given her. Her gold-washed chainmail was so light and easy to move around in, and she pitied the guards who were weighed down with armor.

The trip was slow, it took nearly an hour to reach the Valley of Chemary, and Arthur kept stopping to look for tracks and signs of the renegades. Merlin seemed put out about something.

"I don't know why I bring you on these expeditions, you spend the whole time terrified." Arthur said.

"I am not terrified."

"Yes you are, I can tell you are."

"No you can't."

"If you weren't scared, you'd be talking rubbish as usual."

"Well, I am talking rubbish as usual!" Alanna snorted with laughter at this. The two behaved like little children sometimes. "I mean, I am talking as usual, so clearly, I'm not scared."

Soon they reached a clearing with broken branches, but they didn't lead in any particular direction. Alanna sighed, wishing she had Faithful with them, he could have helped find the renegades, he was able to hear their mental conversations. A few of the group dismounted, looking for any tracks.

"The renegade camp, it's that way!" Merlin announced.

"And you know this how?" Arthur asked.

"Because of... Because of this!" He pointed to a footprint in the mud. Alanna peered at it, she was sure that hadn't been there before.

"So? It's a footprint, who says it belongs to a renegade?" Said Arthur.

"There's more!"

Merlin was right, Alanna could see a set of footprints leading in one direction. Had those really been there before? She had good eyesight, she was sure she would have noticed them. Was she getting sick or something?

As they followed the trail, a camp came in sight. It belonged to the renegades, it looked deserted. The coals in the fire were cold, but right as they were about to search the tents, a roar filled the trees. She drew Lightning as she saw renegades pouring out of the trees, brandishing swords.

She leaped forward, slashing at the nearest one, who quickly fell under her blows. She dispatched man after man, and could hear the other knights struggling nearby, but she couldn't see Merlin anywhere. Just as she was about to run to Sir Leon to help him, she slipped on some blood and fell, the wind rushing out of her. As she tried to get back up, a man appeared, preparing to stab her. Before he got the chance, he gasped and fell over, a spear embedded in his back. She looked around wildly, but didn't see anyone who could have thrown it. She put the thought out of her mind as more another renegade took his place.

The clearing was settling, Arthur fought with the man, Alvarr. They exchanged a few blows before Arthur brought Alvarr to his knees. She kept her guard up, there were still renegades lurking in the trees. Arthur had gotten the crystal back, and he secured it in the pouch around his belt. Some of the guards helped chain up Alvarr, and Arthur yelled, "Go after any others! Make sure they leave the area, or bring them back as prisoners."

By now most of the renegades fled, but she saw movement to her right, and darted after the figure. It was a child. She stopped, she couldn't hurt a child. She watched from behind the trees as the boy ran, his blue cloak fluttering behind him, when a tree branch shot out, tripping him. Tree branches didn't move by themselves! Someone had used magic! Some of the guards advanced on the boy, but before she could step in to stop them, the boy screamed, knocking the guards backwards and leaving them unconscious.

The child stared intensely at something in the trees, blue eyes glittering. Even though he wasn't speaking to her, she could hear his voice in her head, radiating with cold anger and betrayal.

_I shall never forgive this Emrys, and I shall never forget._

She froze for a second in shock as the boy ran away. Emrys! He was here! She ran to the spot where the boy had been looking. But there was no one there. Whoever Emrys was, he was gone.

**I hope you guys liked it! Please review! They let me know that there are people actually reading this story! I'm considering putting in Arthur's POV a little bit in the next chapter, but I'm not sure how well it will work. I will try to update sooner this time, tomorrow is the first day of Spring Break, so I will have more time to write. (If my mom lets me use the computer). Have a good weekend everyone!**

**Peace out,**

**BlueMoonMaples**


	5. Observations

**CHAPTER 5**

**Hello! I hope you like this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Song of the Lioness or Merlin**

Alanna couldn't help but be disappointed. Yes, they had gotten the crystal back, and yes, they had captured Alvarr, but she had been so close to finding Emrys, and she failed. She remembered what the Goddess had said before she sent them here. _Trust the two men you saw in your dream, for they will help you as you help them. _The two men she had seen in her dream had been Arthur and Merlin. Now, judging from her observations, Arthur was smart when it came to the things a king needed to know. But being the son of Uther, and not the most observant of fellows, he probably wouldn't be the best to ask about a sorcerer named Emrys.

Alanna sighed, she was proud, and really didn't want to ask for help on her mission, but if she didn't find Emrys soon, she wouldn't be able to do what the Goddess had asked her to.

Everyone was asleep right now, even Merlin, who Arthur had told to guard the crystal. Would the crystal show her who Emrys was? It was worth a try.

Slowly, trying not to make a sound, she made her way over to the crystal, sliding it out of the pouch. She closed her eyes, willing the crystal to show her. The crystal grew warm in her hands, and she opened her eyes. Many images were flashing by. It was a dragon, soaring over Camelot, flames burning the castle flags and scorching the stone. People injured, moving through the debris. Herself, Arthur, and Merlin walking through the forest, approaching a cave. Inside was a man, crouched in darkness. Was this Emrys?

Almost as if the crystal heard her question, the images changed, moving faster and faster. Arthur running, Arthur fighting, herself doing magic as her eyes burned with purple flames. A dark figure in the background, or was this Emrys? She willed the crystal to focus on him, but the crystal was stubborn. It refused to show her the man's face, instead showing her his displays of magic. This had to be Emrys judging solely from the amount of power he was using, but still she couldn't see his face.

Frustrated, she shoved the crystal back into it's case, and threw it on the ground. Luckily nobody woke up. Going back to her spot, she laid down, trying to fall asleep.

* * *

Uther was very pleased in their success finding the crystal, and interrogated Alvarr. He refused to tell who had worked with him, saying he had worked alone. The idiot king believed him. After finishing his interrogation, Alvarr was sentenced to death. But it was all for naught, as Alvarr escaped that night.

Alanna increased her time in the library, hoping to come across something with information on Emrys. But she did not. Her own determination surprised her, already she was feeling protective of Camelot, and was eager to start her mission.

Faithful merely amused himself, wandering around Camelot and catching mice. This irritated Alanna, as she could use his help.

One night, as she put away the books she was reading, Faithful came running in.

_Alanna! I found someone who might be able to help you!_

She followed him inside the castle, down to the dungeons. Guards were playing dice below.

_We need to distract them._

_How? _She thought back.

Faithful stopped, thinking.

_I know! Wait here!_

He walked down the stairs towards the guards, who didn't notice him. He meowed at them, looking up at them with huge round eyes, and making his 'adorable face'.

"Awwww, look at the little tyke." One of the guards started stroking Faithful, who began purring. The other joined in.

"Do you think he's hungry?"

"We can't feed him."

Faithful began batting at the dice with his paw.

"Look guys, he wants to play too!" One guard laughed. Alanna smirked, for all their ferocity, the castle guards were all big softies.

One of the guards tossed one of the dice on the ground, which Faithful promptly leaped on, batting across the floor and chasing down the hall. All of the guards laughed and went after Faithful to get the dice back, leaving the room empty.

_Now Alanna! Grab a torch and go through the door and down the stairs until you come to a large underground cavern._

She did as he said, lighting the torch as she went. The stairs she followed were dusty, with massive cobwebs stretching across the walls. It was cold down here, what was so important that needed guarding? That Faithful wanted her to see?

Eventually she came to a huge cavern, stalactites and stalagmites all over the place. A massive chain twice as wide as Arthur's waist was nailed into one of the rocks.

"Hello?" She called.

"Anyone there?"

The cavern rumbled, as a gigantic dragon swooped down to land on the ledge opposite her. She reeled back in shock, preparing to make a dash for it. At that moment Faithful came in.

_Relax Alanna, he isn't going to harm you._

Alanna could only gape.

"Interesting." The dragon said. "I expected something different."

"You...you can talk."

"Observant isn't she," The dragon said to Faithful, both started making odd noises like they were laughing.

"Faithful, what are we doing here, and how do you know him?"

_I was exploring, and I came down here. The dragon recognized I wasn't an ordinary cat, and every now and then when I want some intelligent conversation I come down here._

"So why are you only bringing me down here _now_?"

_The dragon might be able to help you, he can sometimes see the future._

Nervously she turned to the dragon, "What is your name?"

He looked at her in surprise, "No one has asked me my name in the last 20 years."

"Well, I don't know what to call you."

The dragon grumbled before saying, "My name is Kilgarrah."

"Faithful said you could help me. I am looking for the one they call Emrys, and the Once and Future King, who I believe might be Arthur."

To her utmost surprise, Kilgarrah started laughing. "In order to find Emrys, you must look at what is around you, for he hides in plain sight."

"So he's here in Camelot?"

"Yes, he is in Camelot."

"Do you know who he is?"

"Yes."

"Will you tell me?"

"No."

She had gotten only one straight answer from the dragon so far, he probably enjoyed being cryptic.

"I need to find Emrys, I am supposed to help him somehow." She said.

"Yes I know. I could feel destiny's changing. But before you can find Emrys, you must learn to be aware of your surroundings, for he is hiding in plain sight."

"Do you know how I am supposed to help him?"

"The Once and Future King will face many foes, and even Emrys will need help to keep him safe, which is where you come in. You are Leæna, and your help will save them, for without your help, Albion will not be born."

"Thank you for telling me this, are you sure you can't tell me who Emrys is?"

Thankfully the dragon looked amused rather than annoyed, "You must find him yourself, every creature needs to learn how to see, only then will Leaena's powers work."

"Thank you."

* * *

Kilgarrah had certainly given her a lot to think about. Leaena, the name struck a chord deep within her, a long ago memory brought to the surface. She remembered the day she was knighted, when Thom presented her with her shield.

"_Thom removed the shield cover, revealing a black tower on a red field: the Trebond arms. Taking it from Coram, Alanna settled it on her left arm. It was light and strong, and she could feel the protecting spells on it. She bowed to her brother, and to the king and queen, then glanced around, startled by the sound of cheers. They were cheering her! She shook her head, blushing. They had cheered when Jonathan was knighted, of course, but this was something else. He was the heir, and an heir who was a knight was far more powerful than an heir who wasn't. But she found a place in their hearts, and they cheered her because they loved her._

_Thom went to her room to put the shield away. He greeted Faithful solemnly as Alanna placed the shield on her bed in order to look it over. "I thought you weren't going to be here after all," she observed, touching the shield with a bandaged hand._

"_This is beautiful."_

"_I was held up because I wanted to make it secretly. Watch this." Slightly smiling, he passed his hand over the shield's face. Alanna stared as the black tower faded, leaving instead a great gold cat on its hind legs._

"_What is it?" she asked as the cat faded and the tower reappeared. Thom helped her put the cover on the shield and hang it in her dressing room with her other arms._

"_It's a lioness rampant, of course. For when you reveal what you really are. Let's go to dinner; I'm starved."_

_Alanna led the way to the banquet hall, thinking: A lioness rampant. I like it." *_

She woke up the next morning in an unusually good mood. She would take the dragon's advice, and look at her surroundings. Emrys was in Camelot. He was hiding in plain sight. He had also shown up in the clearing, so he was able to find out what was going on in the castle, but then again, people did gossip. According to the Goddess, Merlin and Arthur would help her, and she would help them. Maybe one of them could lead her to Emrys. She believed Arthur was the Once and Future King, which the dragon neither confirmed nor denied. But it made sense he would be. Emrys was still a mystery though.

The dragon told her she had to find out on her own, so did that mean she couldn't ask Arthur or Merlin?

Just to be safe, she would figure it out on her own. A sorcerer in Camelot, she shook her head, and the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the earth at that. The king was a narrow-minded idiot, believing he knew everything that was going on. Arrogance is not a good thing, but it was plentiful here in Camelot.

The next few days were spent just waiting and watching. But nothing. No magic had been done that she could feel, no things out of the ordinary that she noticed. It was just the same routine; training, reading, teaching Merlin how to sword fight. She talked to Gwen often, and stopped in to say hello to Gaius. When she had nothing else to do, she would fetch herbs for him. She avoided Morgana, Alanna didn't trust her. She was willing to betray everyone in Camelot for people she barely knew. Alanna sure wasn't going to spend her time trying to get chummy with the king's ward.

"Alan."

She snapped out of her thoughts, Merlin was watching her. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, just a little distracted." She shook herself before assuming a defensive stance. "Again."

Merlin slashed down at her, he had gained some muscle, she could feel that he was stronger than he was a few days ago. She parried, and lunged in awkward ways, forcing him to correct his footwork. That was the point of this drill, to increase the speed of his reflexes and drill his footwork. The fight increased in intensity, Merlin struggling to gain an advantage. Sweat dripped down her brow, she actually had to put in a little effort, he'd improved so much. But he was still a beginner, and fell for easy tricks.

Eventually, when both of them were panting, she stopped. "You've improved."

He beamed at her, "Thank you for teaching me. Same time tomorrow?"

"Of course, I'm not giving up on my star pupil yet."

As he started to walk away, she sighed. She wished she knew how to find Emrys.

"Something wrong?" Merlin asked.

"No, I'm fine."

"What's wrong? You've been so quiet lately." Alanna put away the training equipment, and they began to walk back to the castle. The sun was still shining, they'd finished early.

"I've been testing my powers of observation." She said.

"Any luck?"

"Not really."

"I think it's Camelot's fault," Merlin grinned, "All the knights around here seem to be terribly unobservant."

Alanna playfully punched his arm while secretly agreeing, "I'm not a Knight of Camelot yet, so there's still hope for me."

Merlin just patted her head.

"Hey!"

They walked into the castle courtyard.

"Alan, when did you get Faithful?" Merlin asked, looking at the cat on her shoulder.

She looked up, "Umm, I think it was around 2 years ago, almost 3."

"Where did you get him?"

"I was traveling in the woods one night, and I stopped to make camp when it started to rain. This poor, half-starved kitten came up to me, nearly scaring me to death."

"And you took him in?"

"Yeah, I gave him a bit of food and kept him warm that night, now he goes almost everywhere with me."

Merlin's face softened, and he reached out to scratch Faithful behind the ear, who immediately began purring. "He likes you." she said.

He smiled, "I just have a way with animals."

_He's not kidding, that feels good. His hands are like magic. _Faithful purred. Neither of them noticed Merlin stiffen beside them, until Faithful pouted, _Awww he stopped scratching me._

Alanna grinned and was about to say, "I think you've gained an admirer," but stopped at the look on his face. He was looking very uncomfortable, eyes wide in slight shock as he stared at the cat.

"Merlin? What's wrong?"

"There you are, Merlin! Jeez, stop being such a girl, I need you to clean my armor, not sit around and play with cats all day!" Arthur yelled, standing at the top of the steps.

"Sorry," Merlin muttered, "I've got to go." He ran up the stairs to Arthur, who looked surprised at how quickly he had come; no snappy retorts or anything.

"That was odd," she remarked to Faithful, "Why do you think he just ran off like that?"  
_I don't know, what happened right before he ran off?_

Alanna walked back to her room, thinking. _He started petting you, and then freaked out about something, right before Arthur called. _Alanna thought at him.

_He was scratching me, and then suddenly stopped. Why? _Faithful asked.

_He was scratching you, then he stopped and was looking at you funny, did you do something strange?_

_I don't think so. _Faithful replied, _I purred, and I said something to you, but I didn't say anything to him, just to you._

_But he looked shocked. Is it possible he heard you?_

_It's possible, but I wasn't talking to him, I was only talking to you, how could he have heard me?_

Alanna was trying to think, _What was it you said?_

_Uh, I think I said something like, "He's not kidding, that feels good. His hands are like magic."_

_Magic..._Alanna mused. _He's good with animals, why is he good with animals? Why do you like him so much Faithful?_

_I don't know, I feel safe around him. He emits a good feeling, and the way he scratched my ear felt nice._

Alanna was trying to think. Animals are drawn to Merlin. Animals including Faithful, who isn't an ordinary cat. He acted strange when Faithful spoke. Is it possible Merlin had heard him? Nobody could hear Faithful unless Faithful wanted them to. And just what Faithful had said tugged at a memory. "_His hands are like magic." _And also, "_He emits a good feeling."_

She remembered when she first met him. He had an aura about him, an aura she couldn't quite place. She didn't feel the aura any more, but her first impression of him had noticed something different.

She was supposed to be observing her surroundings, and what she had observed made her wonder one thing. Did Merlin have magic? As absurd as it seemed, that the goofy, clumsy manservant might have power, could he be the one she was looking for? Was Merlin the master of disguise, hiding in plain sight? Was he Emrys?

***Cited from page 214-15 of ****In the Hand of the Goddess****, by Tamora Pierce**

**Disclaimer: I do not own this book, I am merely citing an excerpt from it.**

**Please review! They make me really happy**


	6. The Fires of Idirsholas (Part 1)

**Chapter 6**

**The Fires of Idirsholas (part 1)**

**Hey everyone, here's the new chapter. Sorry this took a while, but I've got a hectic schedule so updates will now be farther apart. Maybe like once every two weeks, one week when I can manage it.**

**First, a shoutout to my friend Cariboucapecod, who helped me to write some of the Merlin/Arthur banter, and has helped me edit the story. (Check out her story, it's a Merlin fanfic).**

**I'm not very happy with how this chapter turned out, but I hope you like it anyway.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or Song of the Lioness**

Arthur was impressed with Alan's abilities. He would have been willing to make Alan a knight two weeks ago, but he knew that every person has a basic training period they must go through before they can be knighted. He had finished his training, but then the Crystal was stolen, making everything chaotic the next few days. He was glad they finally had time now, for Camelot could use knights like Alan.

The fiery tempered trainee was about to face his final test. Arthur already knew he would pass, Alan had beaten him before in a fight that had lasted a lot longer than a minute. This fight was more out of ritual than anything, but Arthur was determined to not lose again. Now that he knew what to expect, he wasn't going to underestimate the red-head.

* * *

Merlin was worried. Did Alan know he had magic? And did Alan have magic? If so, what were his intentions? Merlin had heard the cat speak, and the cat had to have been speaking to Alan. It is possible Alan didn't have magic, but what would he do if he knew about Merlin?

Merlin acted the same, he greeted Alan with the same cheerfulness he normally did, but he was on edge. So far Alan hadn't said anything. Had he noticed? Or was he as oblivious as the rest of the knights? Somehow, he didn't think so; all he could do at this point was wait and watch, only time would tell...

* * *

Alanna decided she would wait and watch. She wouldn't confront Merlin yet – after all, she had no proof, it was only a suspicion, and guessing wrong could be disastrous for her. She would observe, and find Emrys by observing.

She acted the same, treating Merlin as she normally did, and pretending to be as oblivious as the rest of the knights, though it was difficult, did Merlin know she had magic? He was intelligent enough to figure it out.

Her stomach clenched at the thought of someone finding out about her magic. It had taken a long time to overcome the fear of her Gift, and coming to Camelot - where anyone with magic would be put to death – was starting to reawaken that fear. She really had to admire Merlin's nerve, if she was correct, then he had a terrible secret. A secret he had to carry while being the manservant to the prince no less. Either he was an idiot, suicidal, or an absolute genius.

If he did have magic, what he was doing _was_ clever, hiding where no one would think to look. She behaved normally towards him every time she saw him, but even though he greeted her with his trademark goofy smile, she could practically sense his wariness.

It was only a matter of time before she confirmed it. Was he Emrys? Or was this just a huge misunderstanding on her part, and she was imagining everything? Only time would tell...

Alanna stood in the sunlight, adjusting her gloves as she listened to Arthur speak. "Alan of Trebond! This is your final test. You must last one minute in a duel against me, the First Knight of Camelot. If you succeed, you will become a knight." The knights and other trainees were watching, as well as a few servants who were all eager to see the duel. He continued speaking, "At the sound of the gong, the duel will commence. Good luck." Both of them slid on their helmets and drew their swords, getting into defensive positions.

She waited, listening, and the gong was struck. She moved forward, as nimbly as a cat, and she and Arthur began to circle each other. She struck first, darting in as she stabbed towards his sword arm, which he dodged, allowing her to slash at his other arm. He barely avoided the blow, and stabbed at her in return. So it continued, as they slashed at each other in a deadly dance. The parries and blows whirled around like a rainstorm in heavy wind, as they clashed to the thunder of steel meeting steel.

As she spun around, lashing out with Lightning, Arthur rammed his shield into her sword arm. She gasped in pain and dropped her sword, but she hadn't completed the full minute yet. She refused to be beaten so easily. Ignoring the pain, she rolled out of the way of his next blow, snatching up her sword with her left hand.

She stepped back a few feet, panting heavily, before lashing out with her left hand. Her shield lay forgotten on the ground behind her. She couldn't shield herself from Arthur's blows, and he used his shield to his advantage, ducking behind it when she attacked. She wasn't moving fast enough to get around the shield, so she had to attack him with a different strategy. The minute was passing slowly for her, as she took in everything in a single glance, as her mind and reflexes danced with Lightning. She was small, and she was going to use that to her advantage. She lunged again, as he ducked behind his shield, pulling back she dropped down, spinning around and rapping his knee sharply with the flat of her blade. His legs gave way as his knee buckled.

She was over him briefly, but he rolled out of the way quickly, getting back to his feet. She noted with satisfaction he wasn't moving as quickly, and was leaning more heavily on his good leg. They were equally tied, neither had shields anymore, and both were off balance. Alanna couldn't use her right arm, and Arthur was favoring his right leg, as his left was injured. Neither would give up though. They began circling each other again, staring intently as they each looked for an opening.

_Gong!_

It had been a minute, she had passed her test. Both straightened out of their crouches, and grinned. The crowd around them were staring open-mouthed. The speed that the two had exchanged blows, they had squeezed four minutes worth of fighting into one. The crowds were in amazement at the speed they had moved with, so fast they were barely able to follow the fight. This duel would go down in the Camelot legends, for all future trainees, as two knights had fought with the strength and speed of immortals.

Neither of the duelers knew what the crowd was thinking, all they knew, was that they had a knighting ceremony to go to.

Alanna knelt in front of Uther Pendragon, who touched his sword to both of her shoulders.

"Rise, Sir Alan, Knight of Camelot." The crowd cheered as she stood up and took her place among the knights, who clapped her on the back. Alanna looked to the back of the room, seeing a very tall woman with black hair and emerald eyes.

Leaena and Emrys would be an unstoppable team, defeating many enemies along with the Once and Future King. The trio would unite the lands of Albion and beyond, ruling in a Golden Age of peace that would never again be repeated through all of history. Even as they stood, the different threads of destinies were being woven into the Loom of Fate, and a picture was beginning to form.

Alanna was happy, she was now a Knight of Camelot. She was starting her adventure. She had an idea of who Emrys and the Once and Future King were, now all she had to do was confirm it.

It was morning, and as she was heading out to the training grounds, she passed Arthur in the hallway. "Alan." He called.

"Yes?"

"Ready your horse, and bring enough supplies for a two day trip."

"Okay, but why?"

"Knight's patrol, we're checking out some suspicious activity at the citadel of Idirsholas, it's about a hard day's ride away."

Alanna was slightly irritated by the lack of information, but packed her stuff. She hesitated, but decided to leave Lightning behind, she didn't know why, but she had the feeling she shouldn't bring her favorite sword. Instead she grabbed one from the armory on her way out.

A group of about a dozen knights were waiting in the courtyard, as well as Merlin and Arthur. She still didn't understand why Arthur felt the need to bring Merlin everywhere, but she didn't question it.

She mounted Moonlight, sitting behind Faithful, and the group headed off.

Falling into step besides Merlin, she asked, "What's going on?"

"Smoke was seen rising from the citadel of Idirsholas?" He replied.

"So?"

"Around 300 years ago, seven knights turned against Camelot, and joined forces with a sorceress. They were called the Knights of Medhir, and under the sorcerer's spell, they terrorized the land, nobody could injure them. Only when the sorcerer was killed were the knights stopped. But as legend has it, when the fires of Idirsholas burn, the Knights of Medhir will ride again. Nobody has been in there for 300 years, so we need to see what's going on."

It sounded like a superstitious myth, but at least it was a chance for her to get out of the castle. She loved riding, and it was about time Moonlight got to stretch her legs.

For most of the ride, it was quiet and enjoyable, the sun lazily passed across the bright blue sky, as it passed into the afternoon. The forest was calm and peaceful; squirrels ran past, chittering, and birds hopped among the tree branches, singing their melodies.

Arthur and Merlin bantered a lot, which was entertaining. She could tell the two were very close friends, even if neither of them would admit it. They behaved like children, the way they bickered.

"Come on Merlin, you're so clumsy. You have the grace of an injured wombat."

"And you have the intelligence and the observation skills of a drunk squirrel."

"I'm plenty intelligent, and at least I can handle a sword properly."

"Yeah, well I can think. You're all brawn and no brain." Merlin said.

"You're about as smart as that rock over there. No wait, I changed my mind. The rock's smarter than you." Arthur shot back.

"Oh, and this is coming from the man who was trained to kill since birth and almost lost to ME in a mace fight."

"You almost lost to Merlin in a mace fight?" Alanna asked curiously.

"It was beginner's luck, and also, I'd never fought in the marketplace before, I kept tripping on things." Arthur fake pouted.

"Shouldn't the once and future king know his kingdom?" Alanna teased lightly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Merlin stiffen slightly at her words. "How did this fight start anyway?"

She could see in their faces that the two had begun reminiscing.

Merlin answered first, "It was on the first day I came to Camelot, and this prat was being mean to a servant. I stopped him, insulted him, and got thrown in the dungeons for trying to punch him."

"You guys honestly started fighting the day you met?" Alanna shook her head, amused.

"Yeah, and if that isn't enough, the next day he started insulting me again, and we started fighting with maces." Arthur had a smirk on his face, that somehow managed to be nostalgic at the same time.

"How on earth did you two become friends?"

"We aren't friends," Arthur put in. "He's far too much of an idiot for that."

"And he's far too much of an ass to be friends with." Merlin said sounding amused.

"Whatever you say," She smirked. They exchanged a glance, but soon began bantering again. It was entertaining to listen to, and all of the knights were grinning as they plodded on.

Everyone was in a good mood but that quickly dissipated as they reached their destination.

The citadel loomed overhead, dark and forbidding, and the setting sun threw long shadows across the ground. An uneasy feeling swept through Alanna, and she could see that the knights were uncomfortable too. Faithful hissed and the fur on his back bristled. The place felt dark, as if evil lurked in the gloom. Alanna could easily believe the superstitions, but none of the knights would be chased away by legends, they had a duty to the people to keep them safe; and that included checking out all potential threats.

Swords drawn, everyone entered warily. The inside was dark, cobwebs covered everything, and barely any sunlight came in through the grimy windows. Debris lay scattered around, remnants of old statues and stone, as well as a few skeletons. There were some giant mirrors hanging on the wall above them, and seeing their reflections in it was even creepier.

The place seemed empty, there was no sign of life. At the back of the room was a fire pit full of ashes and burnt wood. Checking the ashes, Arthur said, "It seems part of Joseph's story was true. Probably just travelers passing through."

Right at that moment, Alanna felt an evil presence behind her.

"Or maybe not," she and Merlin said at the same time.

The knights spun around, only to come face to face with 7 figures dressed in black, wearing armor and masks over their faces. The Knights of Medhir.

Battle commenced, but the Knights of Medhir refused to die. Alanna fought against one, she plunged her sword into its stomach, but it barely reacted. Now sword-less, she backed up, trapped in a corner.

"Alan!" Merlin threw her a sword, and she parried the knight's blow, managing to trade positions with him. Looking around, only her, Arthur, Merlin, and two other knights were standing. Faithful yowled at her, "We need to get out of here!"

Arthur yelled, "Run Merlin! Go!" Merlin started towards the door but stopped, waiting. "What are you...? Do as I say!"

Arthur shoved Merlin towards the entrance, and Alanna and the 2 other knights made their way to join them. She forced one of the dark knights back, and saw one of the Camelot knights get impaled with a sword. She stood helpless, as a giant mirror fell on a man named Dave.

Only her, Merlin, and Arthur were still alive, and it was them against 7 immortal knights. They couldn't win, they had to run. Arthur and Alanna fended off the dark knights, trying to buy enough time for them to run, and Alanna heard Merlin mutter something under his breath. "Ahríes þæc!"

The ceiling collapsed just as a hand closed on her collar and she was yanked backwards, landing on the floor, the breath whooshed out of her, and she lay there winded. Even with the breath gone from her lungs, she still managed to sneeze violently, once, twice, no, three times. The air around her tingled with magic. She touched the ember that always hung around her neck, and gaped wordlessly at Merlin.

Normally when she saw a sorcerer through the crystal, they had a faint, colored aura. The stronger the aura, the more powerful the sorcerer. But Merlin didn't have an aura; he was _glowing._ The two most powerful sorcerers she had met had been Duke Roger, and her brother Thom. Roger had a strong orange light, while Thom had a swirling purple one that always clung to him. But Merlin... Merlin glowed pure gold.

He didn't just have an aura, she could still see him naturally, but bright golden light shone from deep inside him, and swirled around him turbulently, but at the same time smoothly. It was almost as if his magic had a mind of its own. _How was this possible?_

Merlin, Arthur, and Faithful were standing over her, Arthur's face was desperate but determined, and Merlin stared at her with an unreadable expression.

Alanna was still gaping, mouth hanging open in shock. Snapping her mouth shut, she tried to compose her face, but still had a look of wide eyed wonder. She looked right at Merlin, but gave him a small nod of thanks, not saying anything. She could swear that Merlin had relaxed slightly in relief.

Then she remembered what had just happened; and sadly looked at the now blocked entrance, feeling sorrow for the lost lives. Getting to her feet, the 3 humans and the magical cat set off running through the woods until they were far enough away from the citadel. The horses were miraculously still waiting for them.

"We need to get to Camelot, gather reinforcements." Arthur said, before urging his horse into a gallop.

Following closely, Alanna asked, "What good will that do? All of the other knights are dead, and we can't kill those things!"

"We have to try," he replied determinedly.

Night had fallen by the time they stopped riding. The horses were gasping for breath, flanks heaving and spittle frothing around their lips. It had become too dark to see, and they couldn't go on; as much as they might want to.

"We continue at daybreak," Arthur declared. "Who knows what those things might do. We have to get back." They nodded in agreement.

The three of them split up to gather firewood, and as Arthur and Merlin wandered off in different directions, Alanna silently followed Merlin. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She knew she had to do this now. She could feel Faithful's silent encouragement as she reached out with her mind, searching for Merlin – or Emrys, as it was.

Touching an immense power, she recoiled back, and as she watched, Merlin dropped the wood he was carrying, straightening up and moving quickly through the trees with a grace she hadn't known he possessed. Tentatively reached out again. Finding his mind, she projected her thoughts into his head._ I know who you are Merlin, you are Emrys._

* * *

**Arthur's POV**

The fighting was useless, and he watched as knight after knight was cut down. He had yelled at Merlin to run, but the stupid, selfless, loyal fool was still waiting for him.

Arthur and Alan both backed towards the doorway, trying to fend off the knights long enough so they could escape.

Arthur heard Merlin muttering under his breath. _What an odd choice of swear words, _Arthur thought vaguely. He had never heard swear words like that before.

A hand grabbed his collar as the ceiling caved in, yanking him backwards to safety.

Merlin let go of him as he righted himself, but Alan hadn't been quite so lucky. The tiny knight had gone flying into the floor, the breath whooshed out of him as he goggled at Merlin in shock before sneezing violently 3 times. Arthur was mildly surprised as well, he hadn't known Merlin was quite that strong.

The loss of his knights saddened him, and determination coursed through him. They needed to get back to Camelot. Without a word, Merlin, Arthur, Alan, and Alan's strange cat ran through the trees.

Surprisingly the horses were still there, and the quartet rode on until it was too dark to see, where they finally made camp for the night.

* * *

**Merlin's POV**

The fighting was intense, Alan had just lost his sword, though it wasn't the one he normally used. Instead of using Lightning, Alan had brought a different one instead.

Merlin tried defending himself with his sword, but he wasn't good enough yet, and mostly relied on his magic to save himself. He spun around, most of the knights had fallen, but four of them were still standing, Alan and Arthur among them.

He noticed that Alan was trapped in a corner, pinned by a dark knight. "Alan!" Merlin shouted, tossing him the sword he was holding. Merlin didn't need the sword anyway.

Alan deftly wielded the sword, fending off the knight, but the dark knights refused to die. As the other two knights were cut down, it was Merlin, Arthur, and Alan against seven undead knights.

"Run Merlin! Go!" He heard Arthur yell. Merlin started towards the door but stopped, waiting, Arthur wouldn't be able to get out without him, and neither would Alan. "What are you...? Do as I say!"

Merlin waited in the doorway as the two knights vainly tried to fight off the Knights of Medhir. As soon as they were close enough, Merlin summoned his magic, "Ahríes þæc!" He grabbed onto Arthur and Alan's collar, yanking them backwards as the ceiling caved in.

Arthur righted himself pretty quickly, but Merlin had pulled a little too hard, and Alan went flying through the air, crashing into the ground. It must have been very dusty where he landed, because Alan sneezed loudly, 3 times.

Merlin was about to apologize, but stopped at the look on the knight's face. Alan was gaping at him in shock, hand clenched around something on his neck. Merlin could tell from the knight's face, that _he knew._ Merlin tried to keep his face expressionless, but his insides squirmed with fear. Would he say anything?

Alan seemed to recover, getting to his feet; he looked directly at Merlin, violet eyes meeting blue ones. Merlin cringed slightly, _Here it comes._ But to his surprise, the man just gave him a small nod. Merlin relaxed slightly, had he misjudged Alan? Was Alan truly here to become a knight of Camelot, with no evil scheme to carry out?

Thoughts like this plagued Merlin as they sprinted through the trees, reaching the horses. He knew Arthur was determined to get back to Camelot as quickly as they could.

Finally it became too dark to see, and Arthur finally relented, allowing them to make camp for the night. The three split up, looking for firewood, and Merlin didn't notice as Alan followed him.

He began gathering small sticks, when he felt a presence briefly touch his mind, before recoiling. Dropping his burden he stood straight, searching for whoever was lurking in the trees.

Now on high alert, he crept around with a grace Arthur would be shocked to know he possessed. But he couldn't find anyone. He reached out with his magic, trying to find the presence, when the voice sounded in his head. _I know who you are Merlin, you are Emrys. _It was Alan.

* * *

**Alanna's POV**

Merlin spun around, meeting her eyes. His right hand twitched upwards slightly in reflex before he forced it back down to his side. He watched her warily as she stepped forward. _Merlin, you have nothing to fear from me. I mean you no harm. I am a friend, not an enemy._

"How do I know what you're saying is true?" He asked out loud.

She held up her hands in surrender, but as he flinched, she decided that wasn't the best idea. Instead, she tucked them behind her back.

"I am here to help you. Someone I respect told me that I was needed here, to help the man they call Emrys and the Once and Future King."

"Who told you this?" He asked.

She wanted him to trust her, so she would be truthful. "The Great Mother Goddess."

She had trouble seeing his face in the darkness, she could vaguely make out his features, but that was about it. She tried to make her body language as non-threatening as possible. She was worried that Merlin – or was his real name Emrys? - She was worried he wouldn't believe her. She did not want this man as an opponent.

"I've always been told it was my duty to help Arthur, not anyone else's." He stated.

She relaxed slightly, he wasn't going to attack her. She immediately felt silly, even though this man was Emrys, he was still Merlin. He was still the same kind, goofy manservant he had always been, even if he was the most powerful warlock to ever walk the earth.

"I don't fully understand it myself," she admitted, "Deities seem to enjoy being cryptic, but I was told that something had been changed, and that I was now needed in Camelot. I don't fully know what I'm supposed to be doing, only that I needed to find Emrys, and help him however I could."

Even though it was dark, she could sense Merlin also starting to relax, he was still slightly wary, but he was curious. He believed her, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"How did you find out it was me?" he asked.

"Well, it was hard, but I was told that Emrys was in Camelot, but I didn't know who he was. I -"

"Merlin? Alan?" Arthur was calling in the distance, "Where are you?"

"I'll tell you after he falls asleep." She said.

They gathered up some wood before heading back to their campsite, where Arthur was waiting with an already lit fire.

* * *

**Merlin's POV**

He still didn't know what to think of Alan. The man had crept up on him in the dark, proclaiming that he knew Merlin was Emrys. The fact that he did it with his mind meant that he too also had magic. The cat so far had said nothing, but Merlin knew he could speak when he wanted to, he had heard him before.

When Alan had first come out, Merlin was very wary, what did this man want? He didn't know how much he should believe, but the sincerity with which the man spoke convinced Merlin. Some things clicked into place. He would continue keeping an eye on Alan until he was certain, but he was starting to trust him a little more. Now, his curiosity was piqued, and all he wanted to do was hear Alan's story.

They were all wrapped up in their bedrolls, laying by the fire. The warlock and the sorcerer were both waiting for Arthur to fall asleep, but the prince seemed to be resting fitfully. He reached out with his mind, touching Alan's.

_Will you explain it to me now? _He requested. The knight shifted, meeting his eyes as he sat up slowly.

_Which bit? _

_Who are you? _Merlin asked.

_The story I gave you was almost completely true, there were just a few details I fudged a bit._

There were so many questions he had. _How did you find out that I am Emrys?_

_It was hard. From the first day we met, I knew there was something different about you, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. _

_I've heard that before, _Merlin thought wryly.

_All I knew was that Emrys was living in Camelot, and is supposed to help the Once and Future King – which I assume is Arthur. Am I right?_

_Yes, Arthur is the Once and Future King. _He confirmed.

_So anyway, I first tried searching for anyone that seemed like a sorcerer. No luck whatsoever._

_Glad to know I wasn't your first thought._

_No, you play the simple, clumsy manservant well._

_Thanks... I guess._

Alan smiled. _I was getting tired of searching with no luck, but Faithful took me to meet Kilgarrah._

_Who?_

_He's a dragon._

_The dragon beneath the castle?!_

Alan looked at him. _Yes._

_His name is Kilgarrah?_ Not once had Merlin ever thought to ask his name.

_Anyway, he was very cryptic with his advice. _Alan said, causing Merlin to snort with laughter. Oh, he knew only too well how cryptic the dragon was.

_He refused to tell me who Emrys was, only saying that I would find him by observing my surroundings. _He continued. _If I tried to ask anyone for help, I wouldn't be able to help, for only when Leaena..._

_Leaena? _Merlin prompted.

_I'm referred to as Leaena, just like your name is Merlin, but you are referred to as Emrys. The dragon said that I had to learn to look at my surroundings, and see what is hidden in plain sight before I could be of any help. So I began observing. _

Merlin remembered that conversation, when Alan told him he was working on observation skills.

_So what gave me away? _Merlin asked.

_When people actually start paying attention, your behavior is actually a little suspicious, but luckily for you the knights are rather thick._

Merlin snorted. Too true.

_Odd things happen around you Merlin, and it doesn't take much to put two and two together to realize that you made them happen. Like the footprints appearing in the dirt on the way to the renegade camp, or spears thrown from nowhere hitting renegades, branches falling, tripping men. Ceilings just happening to cave in..._

_I'm still not sure whether to trust you or not. _Merlin admitted.

_And I'm still worried you might attack me, _Alan replied, causing Merlin to smile.

_Why would I attack you?_

_Because if you don't believe me, you might see me as a threat to Camelot. People seen as threats are generally taken out silently. _He said darkly, as if it had happened before.

Merlin still didn't know what to think, but he found himself believing Alan.

Drifting off to sleep, Merlin thought about what had happened. Someone had discovered his magic, simply by observing. And this person had magic as well. Merlin felt less lonely, there was someone his own age he could talk to, who would understand. As strange as it might seem, he was happy.

**Did any of you notice the Supernatural reference? Let me know if you did! (Hint: It's a reference to something from the first season of Supernatural) :)**

**Please let me know what you think about the chapter!**


	7. The Reality of Dreaming

**INTERMISSION**

**I'm so sorry for not writing for 2 months, but I've been SUPER busy lately studying for finals and finishing up the softball season and stuff. But school ended today! Yay! So here is a short chapter to appease you, the rest will be up in a few days. This is still in the Fires of Idirsholas, just an intermission of sorts between part one and part two.**

**In response to V4lkrie, (just in case anyone else is wondering) Alanna is 18, Merlin is 19, Arthur is 20 or 21, and Morgana is 22 or 23 years old.**

Arthur slept fitfully that night, and he was troubled by very strange dreams. In the dream he was with Merlin and Alan, but Alan looked different: his hair was longer and to be truthful, he looked like a woman. This is what convinced Arthur that he was dreaming.

Arthur felt as if he were looking through glass, staring into a room while being kept on the outside. Merlin and Alan were speaking to each other, but Arthur couldn't hear what they were saying, only hearing a few muffled words. The words he caught sounded like: _Emrys, Camelot, Leaena, Once and Future King, Albion._

What did they mean? Nothing made sense; everything was hazy.

As the colors swirled around him, different images flashed before his eyes. Morgana, as she was the last time she had seen him; dressed in her fine ornery and smiling kindly. Morgana, wearing a dark purple dress, raising an ornate dagger above her head as she prepared to plunge it into Uther's unsuspecting form. Morgana, sobbing as she leaned against a tree, curled up on the forest floor.

A dragon soaring above. Merlin running forward as his eyes flashed gold. Alan whirling around with deadly grace, sword burning with purple flames. Gwen, swinging a sword at a fearsome creature as she stood protectively over Merlin's still form. And finally, himself, dirty faced and covered in blood, rising slowly to his feet as he stood at the top of a cliff, overlooking a huge expanse of land covered by streams, trees, valleys, and far in the distance there was the gray smudge of mountains in the background.

The same words danced through the air as he watched, swirling around him faster and faster and faster like a whirling dervish. _Emrys, Camelot, Leaena, Once and Future King, Albion. _And a new word inserted itself: _Tortall._

These words continued to dance incessantly as all of the images became blurred and moved far too quickly for him to see. The dream continued to swell becoming more and more frenzied by the second as it built up in chaos and strength. Then, it erupted. The colors burst forth, crashing over him in waves as he struggled to the surface.

Jolting awake he looked wildly around the clearing, leaping to his feet as adrenaline surged through his veins. He stayed that way for a while, half crouched as his eyes flitted around, searching for a hidden danger unbeknownst to all but him. A good 20 minutes passed before he finally settled down again, but he felt too wound up to sleep.

Sitting on his sleeping mat, he stayed on guard, keeping vigil to the quiet sounds of the night. He tried to remember what had woken him; he felt a memory niggling at the back of his head, but no matter how hard he tried to grasp it, it flitted away. He remembered that there was some sort of dream he'd been having, but he couldn't remember the details. The dream had been colorful and confusing, the dragon had shown up in it, and he could have sworn he'd imagined Alan as a woman. His ego had taken a beating when he lost to the red-headed pipsqueak in a sword fight that first day at training, and now it was clearly affecting his subconscious.

Time passed by slowly as he sat there, trying to sort out the random thoughts flitting through his head. The energy he felt trickled away and he soon began to feel tired again.

Even as he struggled to keep his eyes open, sleep began to drape itself around him in a peaceful, comforting cocoon. Finally, he lost himself in the calming blackness, all memories of the past hour disappearing from his head.

**I know, it's not much, but I felt bad about neglecting the story for 2 months. I will post Fires of Idirsholas Part Two in a few days (hopefully). Until then my readers! :)**


	8. Fires of Idirsholas (Part 2)

**The Fires of Idirsholas (Part 2)**

**I just realized that in chapter 4, I wrote "Gregory of Monmouth" when it's actually "Geoffrey of Monmouth" Sorry about that! (I'll fix it later)**

**Nobody noticed the Supernatural reference in Fires of Idirsholas part one. The quote "A giant mirror fell on a man named Dave" comes from the episode with Bloody Mary in season 1. Yeah I guess it wasn't a very interesting reference, it just made me happy.  
**

**Sorry, I promised a few days and this came about a week late, but it took me AGES to write this, it was originally 12 pages long! I****n the last 3 days I worked on this for at least 7 hours.** I was advised to break Fires of Idirsholas into another part again, so this is just a little snippet of the original chapter. The next chapter should be up tomorrow, I'm just going to fix it up a little more. :)  


**I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter, I'm starting to run out of motivation and inspiration for this story. (I'm not abandoning it, it just might take a little longer to get new chapters out, especially because plot bunnies for other stories keep attacking me.)**

**Just FYI, some quotes in here are taken directly from Merlin, which sadly, I do not own.**

The next morning Arthur woke, cursing as he realized it was past dawn. Leaping to his feet, he swayed as blood rushed back into his head. Arthur felt as if he were forgetting something but he couldn't remember what. The last thing he remembered was collecting wood before going to bed.

Merlin and Alan were still asleep. "Wake up!" Arthur reached out a hand to both of them, shaking their shoulders.

"Hrrgh. What is it?" Merlin asked blearily.

"We slept too long; we need to get back." He responded.

They needed to get back to warn Camelot and come up with a plan. The Knights of Medhir had slain almost his whole patrol, and who knew what they might do next. Alan and Merlin packed up quickly and the three mounted the horses, Faithful sitting in front of Alan.

Merlin was unusually quiet as they rode, which only managed to increase the prince's worries. Normally he would be babbling on about some insignificant thing, and the absence of this normality only strengthened the feeling that something was terribly wrong.

They rode for at least two hours, by then the sun had approached midday when finally Camelot could be seen in the distance. It looked the same as when he had left. Arthur breathed a sigh of relief and pressed on, but his relief was short-lived. As they passed through the main gate, all of the guards were sleeping, and the courtyard was full of bodies. Nothing was moving except for a horse pulling a cart across the square.

"Are they dead?" Alan asked.

Merlin dismounted and checked a nearby body. "No, they're alive, they have a pulse and they're still breathing."

"What's wrong with them?" Arthur demanded, people don't just all randomly decide to take a nap in the courtyard.

"I don't know, we need to get Gaius." Merlin dashed up the stairs.

"Has anything like this ever happened before?" Alan asked Arthur.

He shook his head, "Not in my lifetime."

His manservant rushed back into view, panting hard as he frantically ran down the stairs. "Gaius won't wake up!"

Arthur froze, what was going on? "We need to get to my father!"

They dashed up the stairs and as they ran down the hallway Alan yelled, "Coram!" The retired knight lay slumped against one of the walls.

Alan rushed over, kneeling next to him, checking his pulse. He started shaking Coram, and lightly slapping his face. "Come on Coram, wake up!" The redhead pleaded.

Merlin put a comforting hand on his shoulder, "He isn't going to wake up. We need to find out what's going on, come on."

Alan reluctantly stood up, and the three hurried to the council chambers. It was empty except for two guards.

"The throne room!" Arthur decided.

But Uther wasn't in there either. "Where could he be?!" Arthur demanded. They slowed to a walk as Arthur tried to contemplate where his father might be. He was just about to suggest the dining hall when Merlin interrupted his train of thought.

"Wait!" Merlin pointed out the window. A group of 8 dark figures approached on horseback in the distance.

Arthur swore loudly, "Who's the 8th rider? There's only supposed to be 7 Knights of Medhir according to the legend."

"Friend of theirs?" Merlin commented.

Alan grabbed both of them irritably and yanked them into a nearby room.

"We need to come up with a plan, not exhaust ourselves running through the castle." He snapped. As if in response to his voice, one of the curtains twitched.

Signaling them to be silent, Arthur drew his sword, leveling it at the curtain. Approaching cautiously, he reached out a hand and yanked the curtain aside. The Lady Morgana tumbled out, shrieking in fear. She threw a punch at Arthur which he barely managed to avoid. Grabbing her by the shoulders he shout-whispered, "Morgana, it's me! Calm down!"

"Arthur?" She whispered. Unshed tears glimmered in her eyes, "I didn't know it was you."

"What happened?" He demanded.

"I...I don't know."

"How can you not know, you were here the whole time!" Surely she must have seen something! He needed to know what happened.

"I don't know!" She insisted, "They all started falling asleep one by one."

"How is it that you're still awake?"

"Please Arthur, I don't know!"

"Well it's obvious isn't it?" Merlin piped up. "She must have gotten a potion from Gaius."

"Then why is everyone else asleep?"

"She must have been one of the early cases, so she got a potion, but after that, Gaius was sick and couldn't make any more."

Arthur narrowed his eyes in disbelief, but with no other explanation he would accept the story for now. He was trying not to panic as the pressure of the situation made itself known.

Everyone was asleep. Immortal knights were approaching Camelot. The only people who could do anything about it were him, Alan, Merlin, Morgana, and a cat.

He started pacing, "We need a plan. My father is sure to be a target, we have to get him out of the castle. First we have to find him."

"I know where he is!" Morgana said. "Gaius confined him to his chambers this morning. He had a fever."

Arthur nodded. "Right, so first we go to his chambers, get him out of the castle, and take shelter in the forest while we figure out how to save Camelot." He clapped his hands once in expectation. "Let's hop to it!"

Alan and Merlin exchanged glances. "Yeah there are no kinks in that plan at all." Merlin muttered. Arthur pretended not to hear. He had to believe this would work. The plan might not be specific and well-thought out, but it gave him a goal. "Let's go."

Arthur opened the door cautiously and moved out into the hallway, signaling to the others to follow him.

They walked quickly down the corridor, Arthur moving faster than the others in his haste to find his father. Alan picked up his pace as well.

* * *

As the two knights pulled farther ahead, Merlin whispered to Morgana, "Don't worry, I won't say anything."

"About what?"

"The illness."

"That has nothing to do with me." She asserted.

"No of course not, but you have magic." Merlin stated.

Morgana stopped abruptly, a panicked look on her face. "You haven't told anyone that!"

Merlin immediately tried to reassure her, "No, and I won't tell Arthur, but... There must be something keeping you safe and I think that must be it." He himself had been immune to some spells in the past. At least for a while. His magic protected him so it made sense that Morgana's would do the same.

She still looked panicked, but she gave a short nod, "Right."

Arthur called as softly as he could down the hallway, "I found him!"

Merlin and Morgana both picked up their pace, hurrying to the King's room.

* * *

Uther lay slumped over, snoring quietly with his head on the table. It was anything but a funny situation, but Alanna had to stop herself from smirking at the drool coming from his mouth.

"Father, you must wake!" Arthur shook his shoulder.

"You won't be able to wake him like that, Arthur." Alanna said.

"He's alright." Merlin assured.

"He is not alright!" Arthur pounded his fist on the table. "You said Gaius gave Morgana a potion, where is the potion?"

"I... I don't know." Morgana said sadly.

"Merlin, search for the potion, I'll check the other rooms for any sign of life. Alan, you and Morgana must guard the King." Arthur ordered. He pulled Uther's sword from it's sheath, "Take this Morgana, both of you together should be able to protect him."

He turned on his heel and left, Merlin shot them one last glance before following him out of the room.

* * *

**Merlin's POV**

Merlin knew there was no potion, so as soon as Arthur ordered him to find one, he ran down to the dungeons. Grabbing a torch, he ignited it with a wave of his hand, jogging down the stairs. The tunnel to the dragon's cave was long and twisting, but he was so used to it that it took him very little time to get there.

The dragon lay on the rocks, snoring. Merlin yelled, "What's going on? Why is everyone asleep?"

There was no response except for more snores.

"Please not you as well. I need your help! What am I going to do?! Don't pretend. I know you're listening to me."

The dragon lifted his head wearily, "I don't need to listen to you Merlin. You always say the same thing: "Help me". And yet you refuse to give anything in return. Now you will face the consequence of that decision. Camelot's end is nigh, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"I know I promised to free you and I will!" Merlin said.

The dragon merely laughed in response.

"I will! I promise!" Merlin insisted.

"I no longer trust your promises." The dragon narrowed his eyes.

Raising his voice Merlin said, "I swear on my mother's life."

"Careful what you say!" The dragon warned. An oath like that was binding, and if Merlin didn't hold up his side of the deal, his mother would die. Merlin knew this, but he was desperate. If releasing the dragon is what it would take to save Camelot, he would do it. He definitely wasn't going to let his mother die.

"You have to help me. Please?"

The dragon examined him curiously, "Her life matters more to you than your own. This is an oath I believe you will honor."

"I will." Merlin asserted.

"It is one thing to cast a spell that puts everyone to sleep. The power to maintain it is a very different matter. You will need more than just words to break this enchantment." The dragon told him.

"What do you mean?"

"You must eradicate the source, Merlin."

"Great, what is that?" This would be easier than he thought. If it was just one little thing to destroy then it must already be in Camelot. He just had to find and destroy it before the Knights of Medhir got here.

"Not what, but who. Such spells need a vessel, a constant living presence to give them strength. The source of this pestilence is the witch, the Lady Morgana."

Merlin froze. Morgana? She wouldn't do this! "No, it can't be."

"I have warned you about her in the past, but you have failed to take heed. She is dangerous!" The dragon's voice rose. "And now she has chosen to turn her back on her own."

Merlin turned his head away sadly, "How do I stop her?"

"That is easy young warlock, you must kill her." He stated simply.

"No!" There has to be another way!

"The spell is woven with magic so powerful that even you are not immune. You must act now before it's too late. If you do not, then Camelot will fall and Arthur will die, and the future you were destined to share will die with you."

He walked miserably back to Gaius's chambers, surprised to find Alan and Morgana carrying an unconscious king.

* * *

**Alanna's POV**

"Should we move him?" Morgana asked.

"Not yet, we wait for Arthur to come back. My Lady, you must tell me, what do you remember?" Alanna sat down, staring at her intently.

"I... I don't know! I woke up this morning, everything was normal, but then people started falling asleep!"

"Yet you and you alone were able to get a potion? Unlikely. Merlin's covering for you, that much is obvious, but why are you the only person who's still awake?" Alanna tried to keep her voice quiet and calm, but her nerves were making this feel like an interrogation.

Morgana looked at her fearfully, "Please," She whispered, "I don't know."

Faithful hopped up onto the table, sniffing at Morgana. There is magic around her, dark magic. Someone is using her to maintain the spell.

Do you think she knows? Alanna thought back.

No, unless she's a tremendous actress she isn't aware, she's just as confused as we are; but you need to find out what she remembers.

Alanna sighed and looked away, rubbing her eyes. Persuasion and discussion was never a strong suit for her. Alanna preferred to just let her sword do the talking most of the time, and though she could sweet-talk George and some of her friends into doing things for her, Alanna wasn't a diplomat, but she would try her best.

Quietly she said to Morgana, "Something is protecting you from the spell; some kind of magic. For a spell this powerful this is only possible if you cast the spell yourself, or if a sorcerer is using your energy to maintain it."

Morgana protested saying, "That doesn't make sense! How could I possibly maintain a spell?"

"You don't have to be a sorcerer to maintain a spell Morgana; once the initial casting is complete all it needs is a source of energy to feed it, which is why you aren't affected. It would be counterproductive to hurt the energy source for the spell."

"How do you know all this?" She asked suspiciously.

Alanna had been hoping it wouldn't come to this, but she would tell Morgana at least part of the truth.

"Magic is not banned in Trebond. Though I may not possess the skill to perform spells I know how magic works for the most part. There is a reason you are not feeling the effects of the spell, and you know as well as I that Gaius made no potion. So please tell me anything you remember that seemed strange. Odd happenings, mysterious people, anything you think could help."

Morgana's eyes darted around the room, looking for escape. Seeing none, her eyes then rested warily upon the red-headed knight. Would she tell her?

Shaking, she turned away. "I didn't do anything, I didn't cast this spell..."

Alanna waited, saying nothing.

"But I think I know who did." Morgana nervously tugged on her long hair. "There is a sorceress named Morgause. I met with her last night so I could... So I could thank her. She gave me a r-remedy to help with my nightmares, and it worked. I was finally able to start sleeping."

She turned back to face Alanna. "It was a brief meeting, I'd been out there for maybe two minutes, and I don't know what happened. I was looking at Morgause, and the next thing I know I'm back in my own bed in my night dress. I-I thought it was a dream." Her lip trembled as she watched Alanna.

Alanna smiled gently, "Thank you Morgana. It was not a dream, but I promise we will find a way to break the spell."

Alanna began to pace, "I know a few ways to break spells. You can find a counter to it such as a different spell or potion, find a more powerful sorcerer than the one who the originally cast the spell in order to break it, the caster can withdraw it willingly. Sometimes killing the sorcerer will stop the spell but not always. You can also destroy the vessel." Morgana's eyes flew wide as she recoiled in shock and Alanna hastily said, "We will not harm you My Lady, I give you my word that we will find another way." She met Morgana's eyes, trying to convey the truth in those words. Morgana and Camelot could both be saved, and there was no need to choose between the two.

**I feel like I've been neglecting Faithful, so he'll show up more in later chapters. :)**

***For those of you who aren't as familiar with Merlin, the dragon warned Merlin in the past that Morgana would turn against them. She would become evil and form an alliance with Mordred - the young Druid boy prophesied to kill Arthur - but he is not completely aware of how Alanna's presence will change things, so now Merlin is going to be a little different. :)**


	9. Fires of Idirsholas (Part 3)

**And here is the long-awaited for chapter, Fires of Idirsholas Part 3!**

**The last chapter ended with Merlin finding out Morgana is the source of the spell, and the dragon says he has to kill her. Alanna is adamant that there are other ways, what will happen next? (This picks up right where it left off.)**

**Thank you very much V4lkrie for all of your help with editing this chapter! I learned many new things from you! :D  
**

**I know I have a weird system of alternating between character's POVs. Sometimes I warn you sometimes I don't. I'm still trying to figure out a system so you'll have to bear with me.**

**Please review!  
**

Alanna continued to pace, Morgana watching her every move. "Out of all those options, the most likely way to break the spell is to force Morgause to remove it from you. We need to give her no other option but to remove it, but then how will we destroy the immortal knights?"

"Would killing her break the spell?" Morgana asked.

"It would break the spell on the knights, but I'm not sure if killing Morgause would remove the spell from you."

_Emrys's help would be most valuable for this. Shouldn't you include him? _Faithful intervened.

Alanna agreed silently, "We need to find Merlin, he can help."

"Wouldn't Arthur be a better choice?" Morgana asked.

"We should talk to both of them; Arthur is probably a better strategist but Merlin is more likely to know how to stop Morgause. With all those books Gaius has there must be something even if it's just a special potion we can use."

Morgana nodded, "Let's go."

"What'll we do with Uther?"

Morgana cast him a disdainful look, "I guess we'll have to bring him with us."

They made a makeshift sling out of the king's bed sheets. They would position the king on top of the bed sheets and drag him down the hall. Alanna left a little note on the table for Arthur saying "Gaius's chambers."

Alanna panted as they walked, her thoughts kept drifting towards her nice bed in the Knight's Wing, with the clean sheets and soft pillow, all she wanted to do was take a nice nap... _Why was she thinking like this?_

She leaned against the wall to wipe her face of sweat. Why was she so tired?

The spell.

_I'm being affected by the spell! _She realized in horror. _Not good, this is not good._

* * *

Somehow they were able to get down the spiraling staircase leading to the Physician's Chambers without dropping the king or tripping, but they were greeted with an empty room.

"Where's Merlin?"

"Here."

He was pale and sweating as he came up the stairs behind them. He looked miserable about something. "Why'd you bring the king down here?" He asked.

"We couldn't leave him defenseless, and we need to come up with a plan. Merlin, are you feeling tired right now?"

"Yes I am, now that you mention it."

Alanna nodded, worries confirmed, "We're being affected by the spell." She noted how Merlin's eyes flicked sadly over to Morgana. Continuing to speak she said, "Morgana told me that she met Morgause last night, but she can't remember what happened. She didn't conspire with the sorceress, but Morgause is using her as the source for the spell.

Merlin looked guiltier and guiltier. He had probably already guessed Morgana was the source.

"There's more than one way to break a spell. Destroying the vessel is one that we are going to stay clear of, don't worry Morgana. There are other ways."

Merlin's eyes snapped to meet hers, his expression was suddenly hopeful and surprised, as if she had offered him something wonderful; but there was also a hint of disbelief.

"The sorceress can remove it willingly from me, and we can kill her to stop the knights right?" Morgana interjected.

Alanna nodded, "Yes, or we can find a more powerful sorcerer to break the spell."

"But magic is forbidden! And as far as I'm aware none of us are powerful sorcerers." Morgana said.

Merlin swallowed nervously, he opened his mouth to say something but was cut off as the door flew open. Arthur stomped in, "Really? Why did you move the king!"

Morgana shot him a glare, "We need to make a plan. If you were going to make a powerful sorceress to remove a spell how would you do it?"

Arthur looked rather surprised at this sudden question. "Kill her?"

"Yes, except that won't work in this case! At least, not until she wakes everyone up first." Morgana said. she had a funny look on her face, as if it pained her to think about killing the sorceress so heartlessly.

"Then threaten her or bargain with her somehow?" Said Arthur.

"Painful poison?" Merlin suggested. "We could use... Aconite or hemlock? Aconite is fast acting though, and Gaius has the antidote for hemlock in here in case we need to use it."

"Chain her up, force her to drink it and bargain with her to remove the curse in exchanged for the antidote? It might work, Merlin, put the hemlock in your water skin." Arthur said.

"Why _my _water skin?" He complained.

"Merlin." Arthur said warningly.

"Yes _sire._" Merlin reluctantly poured the hemlock into the pouch of water, pocketing the now empty container. "So what's the plan?"

"I just said it: chain her up, force her to drink the poison, and bargain with her to remove the curse. But we need to figure out how to get to her." Arthur said.

Alanna looked at him scornfully, "That's all we need to figure out? And what's to stop her doing magic? Or stop the big creepy knights with her? Think Arthur! You're supposed to be a strategist! We need specifics. We need more time."

Morgana had wandered over to the window while they were speaking. "Uh, you might want to see this." Eight figures on horseback entered Camelot; seven men in black armor surrounding a smaller 8th figure wearing standard gray armor. They watched in dismay as the eighth figure raised their arm, pointing directly at them.

"They can see us!" Morgana exclaimed.

"We need to move, now! They know where we are, they'll find us if we stay here." Merlin grabbed the sheet Uther lay on. The king gave a little snort as the sheet was yanked.

Arthur nodded and grabbed the sheet as well, "We'll go to the council chambers, there's a secret passageway in there we can escape through. We'll have to leave Camelot until we can come up with a better plan." He rubbed his eyes and helped Merlin drag Uther out of the room. None of them noticed they hadn't grabbed the antidote.

They managed to get down two corridors before they heard heavy footsteps ahead of them. Arthur dropped the sheet, "Morgana take him! I'll fight them off."

Morgana obeyed, she and Merlin picking up their pace. Arthur and Alanna kept pace with them, swords drawn as they kept alert for danger. It was a good thing they did because a dark knight suddenly came around the corner, brandishing his sword. Arthur leaped in his path, warding the dark knight back from the others. "Keep going!" He yelled.

Reluctantly they left him behind, dragging the still sleeping king. Alanna ran ahead of Merlin and Morgana, searching for any more threats when she heard a scream behind her. "Help!"

One of the knights was advancing on Morgana, who cowered against a wall. Alanna raced back to them, and before the knight could strike she dove in front of Morgana, engaging the knight in a duel.

They fought, the immortal knight was slow but strong, Alanna was light on her feet but incredibly tired from the spell. As soon as the other two were out of sight she reached inside herself, drawing on the magic residing within her. It expended a lot of energy but the knight flew backwards and out a window. She couldn't keep this up for long; they had to leave Camelot now!

Where was Arthur? He had to be just as tired as she was. She didn't need to protect the Drooling King, she needed to protect the future one!

She was exhausted but she determinedly ran back to Arthur; he was still fighting the same knight. In the time they had been gone, he had managed to drive it closer to the stairs, but not close enough to knock him down. The prince's face was glazed with sweat as he matched the knight blow for blow. They fought in a narrow hallway, very close to the stairs. There was some room on either side of them, but not enough to pass through while swords were swinging.

Alanna couldn't use magic in front of Arthur, but there had to be something she could use...

The hallway was mostly empty except for a small table, a tapestry on the wall, and unlit torches. The tapestry was held up by a cord. Possible ideas went through her head: igniting a torch so she could light the tapestry on fire, tripping the knight with a table, pushing him down the stairs, or tying the knight up with the tapestry and then tripping him...

It seemed a desperate plan but this was a desperate time. Arthur and the knight had locked swords, stopping movement. Neither sword would be able to swing while the hilts were locked, so she took her chance. There was a narrow space between the knight and the wall. Darting by them, she pressed up against the wall and jumped over the small table to avoid any possible movement of the swords. Now she was behind the knight.

Reaching up, she grabbed hold of the tapestry and tore it off the wall.

Alanna held it out in front of her, waiting for the right moment. Arthur's eyes widened with understanding at her plan. He slashed at the knight's legs, forcing the knight to block and bringing his arms down. In the blink of an eye he was wrapped up in a tapestry, arms pinned to his sides as Alanna skillfully tied a knot in the back. Then she back on top of the table, leaving a clear path. It was almost like Arthur had read her mind. He ran forward, ramming his shoulder into the struggling knight and shoving him backwards. The knight fell down the stairs.

They didn't wait for him to recover, rushing to the Council Chambers. "Nice thinking," Arthur praised her.

Alanna merely nodded in reply, wanting to save her breath.

Merlin, Morgana, and Uther had made it safely into the Council Chambers, Faithful standing guard next to them.

As soon as they arrived Alanna shut the doors. Merlin rushed over to help Arthur with the barricade. All of the major rooms in the palace, such as the throne room, council chambers, the citadel, and the main entrance all had barricade holsters on the doors in case of attack. The particular barricade they were using was a large wooden block, the length of a man and as thick as the banquet table.

It took two men to lift it, and as exhausted as they were, Merlin and Arthur only barely managed to put it in place.

* * *

Morgana watched guiltily as Arthur put his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. He was exhausted because of the spell. He pointed at a large dull bronze shield near the corner. "Behind that shield... Is the secret passageway."

Morgana hurried over to the shield, Merlin joining her, but they couldn't even touch the shield. Some sort of invisible barrier blocked the way out. Someone clearly didn't want them to leave.

"How are we going to get out?" Alan banged his fist on the wall.

The large doors rattled as something heavy hit them. "They found us." Arthur stated. Morgana would never admit it, but she was afraid. This woman had used her, used her as a weapon against her own friends and home. What else would Morgause do if she caught them?

"The windows! Use the sheets to make a rope!" Merlin said.

"What will we do with my Father?" Arthur asked.

"There was a horse and cart in the square," Merlin remembered. Arthur clapped him on the shoulder appreciatively. "You are full of good ideas today, Merlin."

Merlin dropped his water skin as he ran forward to tear the sheets, pulling them out from under the king's still form. Alan and Morgana joined him. Arthur cast another worried look towards the door as they rumbled menacingly. "Those doors won't last, not with magic on their side... I'll hold them off."

"Arthur no! It's too dangerous! You're exhausted and outnumbered." Merlin protested.

The prince gave a short humorless laugh. "There's nobody else to do it. Just get my father to safety, I'll follow when you're safe. Help me move the barricade."

"But Arthur!"

"Now."

Merlin glared at him, "I'm not going to help you sacrifice yourself!"

"You aren't going out there alone." Alan looked him in the eye. "I'm going with you."

The prince looked ready to protest, but then thought better of it. He reached forward offering his hand to Alan, who took it. They gripped each others arms, before walking to the door. Even as exhausted as they were, somehow the two of them were able to remove the barricade. "Put it back up after we leave," Arthur commanded.

Then they ran out, shutting the doors behind them.

"They won't survive out there." Morgana was on the verge of tears. She looked away sadly. This was her fault, this was all her fault. Arthur would die, her friends would die, and Camelot would fall because of her. If she hadn't gone to Morgause then she wouldn't have been tricked, and Camelot wouldn't be asleep. What could she do? She had to do something, this was her responsibility. She needed to save her friends. She needed to save her people.

Her eyes fell on Merlin's water skin, the one full of hemlock. It was laying on the floor not 15 feet from her. What had Alan said? One way to break the spell was to destroy the vessel? She was the vessel. She could stop this.

Morgana darted forward, scooping up the water skin. She would drink the poison. For her friends. For Camelot. She would sacrifice herself so they could live. She only hoped that she wasn't too late.

Pulling out the stopper, she guzzled the contents. It didn't take long for her to feel the effects.

There was a slow burning in the back of her mouth. It grew stronger and stronger until it felt like a fire was racing down her throat, into her stomach, spreading to her lungs. She began to gasp for air, grabbing at her throat; she couldn't breathe. Her stomach and her lungs felt like they were cramping as her whole body convulsed. The burning grew more intense.

Her vision became blurry as tears formed in her eyes.

Then suddenly Merlin was cradling her head, supporting her with his arms. He stared down into her eyes, his own blue ones full of grief and guilt. "Oh Morgana, what have you done? This is my fault, I could have stopped this..."

What did he mean? Of course it wasn't his fault, it was hers!

Dark spots filled her vision, her gasps louder and louder. Morgana couldn't hear anything anymore. She couldn't see. She leaned her head against Merlin. The last thought she had was _I'm sorry _before her eyes rolled back into her head.

* * *

"No, Morgana, no!" Merlin shook her body gently. Morgana's head rolled a bit, but she didn't stir. He pressed his fingers to Morgana's neck, feeling for a pulse. A very faint fluttering met his fingertips, but it was weak. Morgana would be dead within minutes. He could have stopped this. Alan had said a powerful sorcerer could stop the spell. Why hadn't he done anything? It was his own selfishness and fear that had prevented him taking action, and now Morgana was paying the price.

Merlin blinked tears away. _The dragon said she would become evil, that she was the source of the spell and the only way to stop it was to kill her. He was wrong._ Merlin thought bitterly. _She didn't have to die at all, and she sacrificed herself for Camelot. Her final deeds were of the purest and most noble intentions. The dragon is wrong! She isn't my enemy, and I was stupid to believe even for a second that she was._

Some of his energy was coming back, he wasn't quite as exhausted anymore; the spell was fading. He knew that he had to protect Arthur, but before he could stand up the immense doors were blasted right off their hinges. Debris flew across the room, assaulting his unprotected face, arms, and torso.

Morgause strode inside, one knight following her. She walked like a cat: crouched slightly with her weight on the balls of her feet. Her armor made no sound, whether due to high quality or magic, Merlin wasn't sure. The sorceress held no weapon, but then she didn't need one. Long, messy blonde curls cascaded down her back, but they didn't do anything to make her look any less threatening. In fact, they made her seem more threatening, her softer appearance masking her deadliness.

Seeing Morgana in Merlin's arms she rushed over, pushing him away. "What has he done to you?" Morgause said, brushing a strand of hair tenderly from Morgana's face. She glared up at Merlin, "You poisoned her!"

"She poisoned herself."

"Don't lie to me boy! Tell me what you poisoned her with and I can save her."

Merlin's thoughts flew by, why would Morgause want to save Morgana? Morgana was still on their side, but perhaps Morgause thought she was on hers? Either way Morgana would die unless she got an antidote. Morgause could save Morgana, but they needed to stop the spell on Camelot first. He squeezed his eyes shut. He had to bargain with her.

"First, stop the attack."

"You're nothing but a simple servant, you don't tell me what to do!"

He hated having to bargain like this with Morgana's life at stake, but he had to save Camelot. "If you want to know what the poison is, you will undo the magic that drives the knights!"

"Tell me the poison or you'll die!" Morgause spat.

"Then she'll die with me. I don't want this anymore than you do, but I have no choice. Stop the knights and you can save her."

Morgause glared at him, but raised her head, shouting, "_Astýre ús þanonweard! Cnihtas Medhires, éower sáwla. Rid eft ond forsliehð eft."_ The knight that had followed her into the room collapsed and moved no more._  
_

Slowly, he reached into his pocket, pulling out the little glass bottle of hemlock. He handed it to Morgause, who pocketed it.

Arthur and Alan ran in through the door, a couple Knights of Camelot following them.

"What have you done with my father?!"

"He's safe!" Merlin yelled.

Uther was waking up, "Morgana!"

Morgause tightened her grip around Morgana, "Keep away from us! _Bedyrne ús! Astýre ús þanonweard!"_

A huge column of smoke and wind surrounded them, transporting them far away.

"No!" Many voices rang out across the room, but it was too late. The King's Ward was gone.

* * *

Merlin hated himself for this. Camelot hadn't fallen today, but with no thanks to the dragon. The Great Dragon was a self-serving creature whom Merlin had been stupid enough to make an oath to, but if he didn't follow through, his mother would die.

He walked through the dark courtyard, lit only by the setting sun which was already halfway under the horizon. Nobody stopped him. He was able to reach the dungeons without any questions asked, and evading the guards was easy seeing as they were sleeping when they were supposed to be on duty. Apparently the spell hadn't already given them enough beauty sleep.

Slowly he walked down the tunnel leading to the Dragon's Cave. In his hands he held the sword of one of the Knights of Medhir. The sword combined with his magic would have the power to break the chains.

Morgana was gone, taken by Morgause. Morgana wasn't the evil witch the dragon made her out to be, her actions today proved that; but how would she be when they finally found her? What would Morgause do to her? And why did she care so much as to save Morgana?

Camelot had avoided one disaster, but their troubles weren't over.

He was in the cavern. A shadow fell over him as the dragon swooped down.

"The time has come young warlock," he said in his gravelly voice.

"Where will you go?" Merlin asked.

"I am the last of my kind, there is but one road I can take." The dragon said vaguely. A red flag went up in Merlin's head.

"What does that mean?"

"You will see."

Merlin didn't want to do this. The dragon wasn't trustworthy, but if he didn't release him then his mother would die. Taking a deep breath the warlock descended down the steps to the dragon's massive foot, bound in the same chain for the last two decades.

He made one last effort to try and ensure Camelot's safety. "Before I do this you must promise me that you will not harm Camelot."

"I think there have been enough bargains, don't you think?" The dragon said.

Merlin gritted his teeth, now he could only hope the dragon wouldn't seek revenge. He wouldn't would he? Not with all the destiny crap he'd been telling Merlin.

The warlock took a deep breath, raising the sword above his head. "_Ic bebeode þisne sweord þæt hé forcierfe þá bende þæra dracan. Un clýse!"_

Upon contact the sword cut right through the chain, sparks flying and the chain breaking in a mini-explosion. The dragon roared and took flight, free from his underground prison for the first time in twenty years.

Merlin waited, listening. For a few minutes he heard nothing but silence, but soon, a very familiar sound reached his ears. The sound of screams.


	10. A Dragon's Revenge

**Chapter 10  
**

**A Dragon's Revenge**

***Hides behind shield, don't hurt me! :(  
**

**I will post an update notice on my profile marking my progress between updates if any of you want to know. If any of you have any ideas for what you might like to see, please leave a review. I have the master plan, but sometimes I need ideas for the little things. Any Merlin characters you want alive rather than dead, any possible scenes you think would be funny, let me know! I might write it!**

**A lot of the dialogue in this chapter is taken directly from the episode, the transcript of which can be found at scriptline . livejournal 12577 . html**

**I hope you all understand this by now, but I do not own these characters or the original stories.**

Merlin stood silently in the council chambers, listening as as the council discussed what to do. The past three days had been full of terror; walls shaking and crumbling from the siege, soot raining down on the masses as flames were unleashed upon the city. The dragon attacked only at night, but fear allowed very little rest during the day. Everyone: the knights, the servants, and the villagers, were exhausted. Even now smoke rose in huge plumes that could be seen from miles away. Camelot was in its own personal purgatory, suffering from the sins of its ruler.

"The dead number 49 men, 27 women, a further 18 women and children are unaccounted for. Most of last night's fires are now out. The castle walls, in particular, the western section are near to collapse, I could go on." Arthur reported.

"Do you have any idea how the beast escaped?" The king asked. Once more, Merlin felt shame burn through him, this was all his fault.

"I regret to say, Sire, we don't." Sir Leon said. Merlin shifted a tiny bit, _Let's hope they never find out,_ he thought to himself.

"There must be some way to rid ourselves of this aberration." Uther stated. He began to pace.

The previous night Merlin had attempted to use his magic on the dragon, enchanting a nearby spear to stab him. But to no avail, it had merely bounced off the dragon's thick scales. The dragon had sneered at him, "Do not imagine that your petty magic can harm me."

"Why are you doing this?" Merlin had shouted. "You're killing innocent people!" He didn't understand it. After everything the dragon had preached about his destiny, Camelot, Arthur, and Albion, he didn't understand why he would attack the city he had so often helped Merlin to save. What astonished him even more is that the dragon even took a swipe at Arthur when the prince got in his way. One lash of the tail and the prince was thrown back. Arthur wasn't hurt too badly, but he received a deep red scratch across his chest. The dragon always enforced the idea that Arthur Pendragon must live for magic to be returned to the realm. So why would he attack Arthur?

Later on his mentor had explained to him that dragons are creatures of the old religion, so Merlin's magic would have no effect on him. They could always find another way to stop the siege, but the warlock had never felt so powerless.

He was shaken out of his thoughts as the king addressed his mentor. "Gaius?"

"We need a dragonlord Sire."

"You know as well as I that is not an option."

"Sire, what if...there was, indeed, one last dragonlord left." Only someone close to Gaius would recognize his discomfort: his hands were clasped tightly behind his back and his shoulders were stiff.

"That is not possible."

"But if there was..." The physician trailed off.

"What are you saying Gaius?"

"It may just be a rumor, I am not sure, but I think there is one Dragonlord still alive. He goes by the name of Balinor."

"Balinor?" Uther repeated blankly.

"Where does he live?" Asked Arthur.

"He was last seen many years ago in Cenred's kingdom, on the border town of Enged."

"If this man exists then it is our duty to find him." Arthur stated. That was just like Arthur, brave to a fault. Ready to set out on a mission to without knowing the details first.

"Our treaty with Cenred no longer holds, we are at war. If they discovered you beyond our border, they would kill you!" Uther exclaimed.

"I will go alone, that way I will not be detected." Arthur stubbornly set his jaw.

"It is too dangerous." Uther insisted.

"Do not turn this into a battle of wills Father." Merlin looked up in surprise; Arthur rarely ever disagreed with his father in public.

"I am not speaking to you as your father, I am speaking to you as King!"

"I will ride immediately." Arthur ignored him.

"My concern is for you." The king said desperately. Despite his aloofness, the king really did care about his son.

"Mine is for Camelot, I will send word when I've found him." Arthur turned on his heel, striding towards the door.

"Take at least 3 knights with you." The king ordered.

Without looking back Arthur said, "I will take one knight with me. Prepare the horses Merlin."

* * *

"A mission? In the middle of a siege?"

"Arthur requested me specifically; we are searching for a Dragonlord, I am told they and they alone can control dragons."

"It'll be dangerous, are yeh sure you don't want me comin' with, lass?"

"I'll be fine Coram," she smiled, " Besides, I've got Faithful with me."

A resigned look crossed Coram's face, he had grown used to Alanna's stubbornness. He knelt down and looked the cat in the eye. "Take good care of her yeh hear me? Protect her."

Faithful twitched his tail in amusement. _Does that include protecting her from herself?_

* * *

Merlin was in Gaius's chambers, packing supplies for their trip. "Who were the Dragonlords, Gaius?"

"The Dragonlords were men who could talk to the dragons, tame them."

"What happened to them?"

"Uther believed the art of the Dragonlord was too close to sorcery, so he had them rounded up and slaughtered." Gaius answered sadly.

"But you knew one was still alive, how?"

Gaius raised an eyebrow. "I helped him escape."

"Really?"

His mentor looked at him gravely. "Merlin, you've never heard the name Balinor? Your mother never mentioned him?"

Merlin shook his head in confusion, "No, why would my mother mention him?"

"After I helped Balinor escape, he fled to Ealdor. Your mother took him in."

"She stood up against Uther?" He asked, surprised.

"Yes."

"She was very brave." Merlin was impressed.

"When Uther discovered where Balinor was, he sent knights to Ealdor to hunt him down, and Balinor was forced to flee."

"Why did my mother never tell me?"

Gaius looked quite melancholy, "I promised her I wouldn't speak of these things, but I think you ought to know."

"Know what?"

"I've always treated you as my own son, but you are not." Merlin looked at the older man warily, where was he going with this?

"You've always been like a father to me Gaius, but what are you saying?"

"The man you are going to find is your father."

"What?! My father, he was a dragonlord?! Why did no one tell me?" Shock, hurt, and betrayal rolled through him. No one had seen fit to tell him who his father was, was he not trusted?

"Your mother thought it was too dangerous." Gaius defended.

"I had a right to know!" Merlin shouted. All his life he had been made fun of for having no father. All the other children in Ealdor – except Will of course – had picked on him; calling him a bastard and punishing him for the simple crime of never knowing his father. Besides, he had been declared illegal for simply being born with magic, how could knowing his father's name put him in any more danger than that!

"She wanted to protect you." Gaius said softly.

Merlin looked at him defiantly, angry tears swimming in his eyes. In a cold voice he said, "No. I had a right to know."

* * *

An hour later he was saddling his horse. Merlin was still angry about being kept in the dark. For 19 years he never even knew his father's name; but even as upset as he was, he regretted raising his voice to the man who had taken him in. When his guardian made a reappearance, Merlin was quick to apologize.

"Gaius, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have -"

"I'm sorry too Merlin. You had a right to know."

Merlin looked away awkwardly as he finished tying down his supplies. Gaius put a calming hand on his shoulder, before wrapping him in a hug. "Be safe."

"I'll do my best Gaius, but you know how Arthur attracts trouble like flies to manure."

Gaius gave a weary chuckle before looking at him seriously. "Merlin, Arthur cannot know who your father is, as the son of a Dragonlord, Uther would hold you under the highest suspicion."

Merlin sighed sadly, more secrets. But he nodded in understanding. "I'll see you soon Gaius."

He mounted his horse and rode to the west gate, there he met with Arthur and Alan and they took off of their mission.

* * *

From the window, Uther watched his son leave, the lanky manservant and a red-headed knight beside him. He addressed a nearby knight, Sir Leon. "Who is the red-haired knight riding with my son?"

"That is Sir Alan of Trebond, Sire."

The king's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I've never heard of Trebond."

"Sir Alan said he came a long way to get to Camelot, that it's a small place far outside our borders."

"Fetch me Gaius and Geoffrey, the Court Genealogist."

**I apologize about how rushed and dialogue-heavy this chapter was. I know Merlin's reaction was sort of shallow and superficial, but I was stuck. Any of you recognize what Uther might do? I'd love to hear any predictions you might have.  
**


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